Against a cold winter sky, Greenport Village opened its ice rink at Mitchell Park for the first time on Wednesday afternoon to a solid crowd of skaters. Temperatures only made it into the upper 30s, but that was the perfect temperature for an ice rink that had sat unused during the holidays, when temperatures rose into the 60s.
“This is a great thing that Greenport does,” said Shelter Island resident Al Hammond. “It’s very popular, but this year I think they had a little trouble because of the warm weather,”
Hammond was at the rink to see his two grandaughters ice skate for the very first time.
“The girls live in the Dominican Republic,” he said. “They don’t see snow or ice, so they had to have the experience.”
The rink opened at 3 p.m. and within half an hour nearly a dozen skaters had taken to the ice.
“It’s exciting, finally!” exclaimed Sarah Perkins of Mattituck. “It took a while, but it’s been so warm. I’m glad they got it open before I go back to school.” Perkins, a student at High Point University in South Carolina, was there to skate and support her boyfriend, Kevin Izzo of Cutchogue, an employee at the rink.
Employees at the rink were also happy with opening day.
“Usually during the week we don’t get that many people, but we had a bunch of people come in today, so it was very good,” said Sarah Doherty of Mattituck, who is in charge of rentals. “I think people are excited, we’ve had a lot of phone calls from people wanting to come down and have their kids take lessons.”
The rink will be open on weekdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Weekday admission is $5 for adults and $3 for anyone under 18. Weekend and holiday hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Weekend and holiday admission is $10 for adults and $7 for anyone under 18.
Skate rentals are $5, the rink also offers skate sharpening, training bar rentals as well as public and private lessons. Helmets are available and free of charge. Skaters are encouraged to bring their own if possible.
The ice rink is expected to remain open until mid to late March 2016, as long as temperatures remain below freezing. The Mitchell Park Ice Skating Rink is located on Front Street in and is within easy walking distance of many local shops, restaurants and cafes.
For more information, visit villageofgreenport.org.
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