Winter Village to open its fifth season on Friday

PORT ANGELES — Dress warm because the ice is returning.

The annual Port Angeles Winter Ice Village opens its fifth season on Friday with daily ice skating through Jan. 2.

Organizers expect a banner year at the rink as public fears of the COVID-19 pandemic subside and the desire to get out and about continues to grow.

Leslie Robertson, events manager for the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the Ice Village, said she believes the community is itching for a return to pre-pandemic life.

“I suspect that we’re going to have a very busy season because all the other recent events that we’ve had, or that I’ve attended, have been VERY busy,” Robertson said.

The 2020-2021 winter incarnation of the ice village was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns, but as case rates dipped, organizers held an abbreviated skate season in spring 2021. The 2021-2022 winter skating season went on as planned, but health fears still weighed heavily on some members of the community. At this point, although COVID is still circulating, restrictions have been lifted and health officials now consider it endemic.

For the coming season, operating hours will be from noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays — a departure from previous years.

Skating will be available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday’s opening day, the four-day Thanksgiving weekend and from Dec. 17 through closing day.

The rink — the only one on the North Olympic Peninsula — closes for 30 minutes at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. for ice resurfacing.

Unlimited daily skating costs $15 per day for people ages 13 and older, and $10 per day for ages 3-12. Children younger than 3 are not allowed on the ice.

Family and military discounts are available, as well as a season pass for $150.

Skate rentals are included in the price.

Marc Abshire, chamber executive director, said it was important to keep skate fees on par with last season.

“The good news is that the prices will remain the same. There’s no inflation at the ice rink,” he said. “We’ve got dollar hot chocolate and the same $15 to skate all day, and $10 if you’re a kid.”

Robertson said holding the line on skating fees was an important consideration while getting this season’s village up and running.

“Obviously our costs went up significantly — everything has — and we were expecting that,” Robertson said. “It has been a bit of a shock, but we don’t want to raise our prices.

“The whole point of this thing is for everybody in the community to be able to come together, especially the youth, so it was really important to keep it affordable.”

All skaters are required to sign an online liability waiver before taking to the ice. To save time in line, the waivers, which cover the entire skate season, can be filled out in advance at wintericevillage.com.

Robertson strongly encouraged pre-signing the waivers before arriving at the rink.

A winter storm in January 2020 almost brought an abrupt halt to the skating season after up to 2 feet of snow collapsed the rented tent over the skating rink. Volunteers dismantled the destroyed covering, and the final days of skating took place in the open air.

The chamber of commerce has since purchased its own tent, as well as a collection of portable sheds used for concessions, ticket sales and equipment storage.

For the upcoming season, the Ice Village now has its own skates, purchased with grant money from the county lodging tax.

“Brand new skates,” Abshire said. “Normally we rent skates from the ice rink company, and they’re used skates that they use all around the country. This year, we’re getting our own Port Angeles ice skates, 300 pairs, brand new, just in from Italy.

“It’s a really big deal and we’re really excited about that. That’s a really important personal part of your experience.”

To go with the skates, the chamber also acquired its own set of animal shaped plastic skating aids for novice skaters.

This year, the organization purchased a set of side boards that surround the ice rink, but the major components of the rink itself will continue to be rented from California-based Ice-America, a company that provides temporary rinks to locations and venues across North America.

Keeping things festive, this season will see holiday decorations donated last spring by Microsoft Corp. Some of the decorations will be used at the upcoming Festival of Trees at Vern Burton Community Center, scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, but will then be moved to the Ice Village afterwards.

Robertson said scheduling of volunteer “takeovers” — entire volunteer shifts staffed by a single company or organization — would conclude soon and volunteer slots for community members would be open for signup this coming week through the event website.

Volunteers receive skate time at the Ice Village or tokens redeemable for swimming sessions at the Shore Aquatic Center in Port Angeles.

As worked progressed this week on site preparation and tent assembly, Abshire said the inevitable glitches, such as misplaced decorative lights and missing twist ties, would be ironed out and the show would go on as planned.

“It’s going great,” he said of the process. “The nice thing about it is that it’s not our first rodeo. This is the fifth time we’ve done this, and we’ve gotten better. Every year we learn something.”

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Photojournalist Keith Thorpe can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 59050, or at kthorpe@peninsuladailynews.com.