The Maggie Daley Ice Skating Ribbon kicked off its tenth season this weekend.
The one-quarter-mile, curved ice rink in the course of Maggie Daley Park, 337 E. Randolph St., has turn into an annual winter custom because it first opened in 2014.
On Saturday, dozens of households flocked to the ribbon, some to take to the ice whereas others had been content material on the sidelines.
“My daughter loves to come back right here, and we’re having some uncommon hotter climate for November, so I made a decision to take her and her pal right here in the present day to kick off the season,” stated Christy An, who lives in Hinsdale together with her daughter, Chloe.
An, who stated she by no means discovered to ice skate, spent the day watching Chloe do laps across the ribbon from a close-by park bench.
”I’m very unhealthy on the ice, however the youngsters go so quick that it’s enjoyable to simply watch,” An stated.
The ribbon, modeled after a lazy river, has a capability for greater than 700 skaters and is a part of Maggie Daley Park’s numerous winter points of interest set towards the backdrop of the Chicago skyline. The positioning presents skate leases, storage lockers and skate aids for kids.
To the south of the Ribbon is the park’s Rink Cafe, which sells treats like scorching chocolate, funnel cake and heat pretzels.
In honor of the ribbon’s tenth anniversary, components of the rink have been embellished with vacation lights.
“For the previous decade, the ribbon has turn into a winter custom for native households and vacationers alike, offering lively recreation and gorgeous views of town skyline,” Rosa Escareño, Chicago Park District Normal Superintendent and CEO, stated in an announcement.
A number of teams of vacationers went to Maggie Daley Park on Saturday for his or her first time skating on the ribbon, together with Leah Jefferies and her fiancé, Zach Benjamin, who had been visiting Chicago from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Jefferies stated she and her sister grew up ice skating, however her sister’s boyfriend, Brage Kjolem, who was visiting from Norway, had by no means been on the ice earlier than.
”That is Brage’s first time within the U.S., and Chicago is such a giant a part of the Midwest expertise,” Jefferies stated. “So what higher method to get that than to spend the weekend within the metropolis and cease at one of many coolest ice rinks within the nation.”
Leah Jefferies, proper, of Grand Rapids, Mich., dances together with her fiancé, Zach Benjamin, left, of Upstate New York, earlier than ice skating on the Maggie Daley Park Ice Skating Ribbon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Vincent Alban/For the Solar-Occasions
Vincent Alban/Vincent Alban/For the Solar-Occasions
The ribbon can be open every day by means of March 9. Skaters can sign up online for two-hour classes to make sure entry to the rink. The classes embody 11 a.m-1 p.m., 2-4 p.m., 5-7 p.m. and 8-10 p.m. Hours will differ on holidays, together with Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Yr’s Eve.
Skating is free for individuals who carry their very own skates, whereas leases begin at $17 when booked on-line and $19 for walk-up leases. Costs will go up in the course of the vacation season, Dec. 13 by means of Jan. 5, to $21 on-line and $23 for walk-up.
“We sit up for park guests becoming a member of the celebration and making this an epic milestone 12 months for this epic park,” Escareño stated.
