Skate to benefit Christmas for All
MAUREEN DOLAN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 12 years, 1 month AGO
COEUR d'ALENE - Some of the most enduring Christmas holiday images feature ice skating. Every year, television viewers watch the Peanuts kids twirl on a frozen pond in time to catchy piano jazz. Christmas cards show festive, bundled skaters gliding across country swimming holes and big city rinks.
This weekend, the skating enthusiasts at Frontier Ice Arena in Coeur d'Alene are kicking off what they hope will become an annual holiday ice skating tradition in Kootenai County - a public skate session to benefit Press Christmas for All.
Skip Fuller, who sits on the board of KYRO (Kootenai Youth Recreation Organization), the nonprofit that owns and manages the new facility on Seltice Way, said it's their way of showing their appreciation for the community's support.
"We're a nonprofit, community- and family-oriented facility. Businesses and families helped us build this. It's really a labor of love," Fuller said.
The organization is donating 100 percent of the proceeds from the afternoon public ice session to Press Christmas for All, a nonprofit that collects community donations and distributes them each year, in the form of gift cards, to needy Kootenai County residents.
The new 34,000-square-foot Frontier facility opened in September, four years after snow collapsed the roof of the area's former ice arena.
The building features a National Hockey League-sized ice sheet and a separate 4,000-square-foot heated lobby with tables and windows overlooking the ice. Refreshments are available for purchase. There's no admission fee to enter the building and sit in the lobby without skating.
"It's a neat place for people to gather and get to know each other," Fuller said.
The $2.8 million facility was re-constructed with funds from the insurance settlement on the old building and through donations and corporate sponsorships. Fuller said they need to come up with an additional $75,000 to put some finishing touches on the facility, including glass for the lobby windows and stadium seating.
The private nonprofit arena's operating revenue comes from its programs and donations.
Jocelyn Stott handles public relations for the arena. The Coeur d'Alene mom's kids play hockey. Stott does too.
"I like that all walks of life can find something to do here," Stott said.
There are lessons available for all levels of skaters, youth and adult recreational hockey leagues to join and a sled hockey program for people with disabilities. Public skate sessions are scheduled several times each week.
Info: www.frontiericearena.org
Skate for Christmas for All
When: Sunday from noon to 1:45 p.m.
Where: Frontier Ice Arena, 3525 W. Seltice Way, Coeur d'Alene
Cost: $5 admission, five and younger free; $2 skate rentals
Why: 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit Press Christmas for All and you can check out the region's new indoor ice rink
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