PORT ANGELES — Scores of ice skaters honed their skills in downtown Port Angeles while others sipped hot chocolate and reveled in their festive surroundings on Christmas Eve.
Skaters moved in a clockwise pattern on the 3,200-square foot rink in the Port Angeles Winter Ice Village on Monday as holiday music played on the loudspeaker.
The first-year Ice Village and skating rink at 121 W. Front St. is open daily through Jan. 6.
“My first time, I fell 10 times and I hit my head three,” said Emilio Lopez, 11.
“If you fall, it’s kind of like learning. You can’t do anything perfect.”
Lopez showed a marked improvement his second go-round, staying mostly upright while skating with his 9-year-old sister, Leny, and his aunt Noreen.
Leny Lopez followed her aunt’s advice by keeping her legs straight and making a V shape with her skates. The technique helped her glide around the rink in her second attempt at the sport.
“My first time, I only fell four times is all,” Leny Lopez said. “I think I did way better.”
The Lopez children were two of hundreds who descended on the temporary ice rink Monday for some exercise and family time.
Their aunt Noreen said ice skating was “better than sitting at home in front of a TV plugged into a video game.”
“It’s a workout,” added Sam Davies of Port Angeles, who accompanied the family to the Ice Village.
For Tabitha Burton of Port Angeles, ice skating was a “romantic” outing with her husband, Sam Burton.
“We were going to [skate] last night,” Sam Burton said.
“We had so many friends around so we thought we had time to do it today.”
The Burtons, who were ice skating for their second time Monday, said their experience on roller skates and inline skates helped them on the ice.
“It’s like roller skating,” Tabitha said. “You practice and practice and you get better.”
“If you haven’t skated on inline stakes before then it might be difficult,” Sam Burton added. “But it’s kind of like riding a bike. You do it a little bit and you kind of pick it up.”
The Port Angeles Winter Ice Village sold an average of 250 skating tickets per day in the first week after it opened Nov. 30.
In addition to daily crowds for open skating, the rink has hosted large groups of students from elementary schools, Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce Director Marc Abshire said in a recent interview.
Tim Tucker, volunteer rink manager, said Monday the village had continued to see solid numbers.
“The great thing is now we’re starting to get more people that aren’t local,” Tucker said of the out-of-town guests who were spending the holidays with family in the Port Angeles area.
“We’re starting to get the family members.”
The Ice Village is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.
The cost to skate, including rentals, is $15 for adults and $10 for youth ages 4 to 12.
The rink is available for private parties, cooperate rentals and birthday parties.
For information on the Port Angeles Winter Ice Village or to volunteer, phone 360-797-9345 or visit www.portangeles.org.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Isaura Young of Port Angeles, left, and Dawn Fender of Carlsborg put on rental skates before taking to the ice on Saturday at the Port Angeles Winter Ice Village.
Emilio Lopez, 11, rests after skating at the Port Angeles Winter Ice Village with his sister, Leny, and aunt, Noreen, on Monday. Sam Davies of Port Angeles is seated on the right. (Rob Ollikainen/Peninsula Daily News)
