This extreme cold is even too cold for the rink!  We are expecting to be open tomorrow for regular business hours from 10am to 10pm.

SAVE THE DATE…

High-School Night  – Friday, February 8th from 7 to 10pm.  $3 admission and $3 skate rental for HS students with ID.  LIVE DJ ALL NIGHT!

Alt-Valentine’s Day event Wednesday, February 13th from6 to 10pm.   Special guests to be announced!

Valentine’s Day event on Thursday, February 14th from 6 to 10pm.  Special treats for our romantic skaters!

Enter to win gift certificates every Saturday and Sunday when you skate at the rink!  Simply enter at the Skate Rental – three drawings each day with winners announced.  If you are not here we will get your prize to you.  Good luck and have a great time at the Skating Center!

Enter to win a Skating Center gift certificate every Thursday this January!

Simply come to skate at the rink during our Lunch Special between12pm and 2pm and eat lunch at Subway to enter into the drawing.  Lunch Special rate is only $3 admission for adults and $3 skate rental!

Entry cards are located at the Skating Center ticket counter.  Be sure to enter your information on the back of the card and then drop off the card at Subway with your purchase.  Prize drawings to be made weekly!

Join us TONIGHT at the Bank of America Skating Center as we kick off the 2013 BRIGHT NIGHT Celebration!   The Figure Skating Spectacular at 4PM marks the start of the Opening Ceremonies followed by special musical performances through 6PM (public skating temporarily closed from 4-6PM for the Opening Ceremony event).  Everyone is welcome to attend the celebration and with extended hours, you can skate right into the New Year until 1am.  See the full schedule below and a Bright Night to all!

          4:15PM to 5PM:  Figure Skating Spectacular - A Tribute to Hollywood and the Arts! with skating stars from across the state.

5PM: Mayor Taveras and Bill Harley kick off the 10th Annual BRIGHT NIGHT Celebration!

5:15PM: Special musical performances by Marvelous Marvin, The Banished Fools, Kristi Martel  and more!

 6PM-1AM- A special late-night skate under the holiday lights! Welcome in the new year with a magical evening of music and skating in our city center! (Normal admission rates apply)

For the full line-up of special events see the official Bright Night website

Bright Night is an artist-run, arts-oriented New Year’s Eve celebration that carries on the tradition of First Night Providence.  Bright Night was founded in 2003 when First Night Providence was cancelled after 18 years.  The organization’s goal is to provide a fun-filled New Year’s Eve party featuring family friendly activities, performances, and exhibits.

Tickets for the full night of Bright Night performances can be bought at the skating rink.

Did you know that Skate for Joy operates its after-school learn to skate instruction and a hockey club for kids at the Bank of America Skating Center? Skate For Joy (SFJ) is a Providence-based non-profit organization dedicated to keeping kids off the streets and on the ice. The program was founded in 2001 by former professional figure skater Carolyn Joy Drumm.

Skate for Joy provides no/low-cost United States Figure Skating and Hockey basic skills instruction to more than 50 underserved children each year. They provide a weekly after-school learn to skate program in the afternoon from December to March, weather permitting, this year also launching a basic hockey skills program at the Bank of America City Center rink. They also provide participants with a healthy snack, life skills speakers, positive role models and all necessary equipment.

Why does Skate for Joy do what it does? Many children do not have the opportunity to discover the "joy" of skating and all of the important life skills--perseverance, confidence, teamwork and a sense of achievement to name but a few--associated with skating because of the prohibitive cost of ice time, skating instruction and equipment. Transportation is also often an issue. Skating provides a unique combination of athleticism and artistry, and fills the gap between outdoor fall and spring afterschool sports/activities. Studies have shown that kids who participate in sports and extracurricular activities not only improve their physical fitness but also outperform their peers academically. Skate for Joy serves children ages 5 to 17 in the Providence metro area. Many SFJ participants are minorities with low to moderate household income.

You can learn more about this incredible program, and information on getting involved, at: http://skateforjoy.org/

Unfortunately there is too much water on the ice to allow the Bank of America Skating Center to be open today or this evening.  We will be rescheduling the Cardi’s Furniture giveaway drawing in the New Year.

As the weather continues to change, we welcome you to call the rink at 401.331.5544 to confirm the Skating Center is open for skating.

Lace up those skates to win a $300 gift certificate from Cardi’s Furniture!  The Bank of America Skating Center and Cardi’s Furniture invite you to join the Cardi characters on the ice on Tuesday, December 18th from 6 to 8pm.  Simply pay for admission to enter the raffle drawing – the winning ticket will be selected at the end of the event.  Come to the rink to enjoy the holiday season and for the chance to win a gift for you or someone on your holiday list!

Cardi’s Furniture will be filming their newest commercial on Thursday, November 29^th from 1pm to 3:30pm at the Bank of America Skating Center and they are looking for extras!  All are welcome to skate and be a part of the action for no charge during the filming hours of 1 to 3:30pm.

… it will be a festive event to kick off the winter holiday season!  Mayor Taveras and WPRI Anchor Jennifer Mobilia will be emceeing this year’s tree lighting ceremony.   You’ll feel the holiday cheer as you listen to featured musical performances by RPM Voices, the 18 Wheelers and the Brown University Skating Band.   Be inspired to get on the rink as you watch award-winning local and regional figure skaters demonstrate their talent in a special performance.

You can purchase an ornament to decorate the tree from the members of the Johnson & Wales University chapter of Phi Sigma Kappa – the benefits will go to the Hasbro Children’s Hospital.  Johnson & Wales and Legal Seafoods will be serving to those who need a bite to eat.

A note of thanks to Stanley Tree Service for donating their crane service for the placing of the tree.

Did you know how much goes into making ice for the Downtown Skating Rink at the Bank of America City Center?

Few realize that after more than a month of daily preparation – from putting up the dasher boards to firing up the Zamboni for the first time, to getting the refrigerant system running that cools the rink floor via thousands of feet of pipes below the surface – a dedicated team of 4 rink staff work day and night for two days straight to make the ice and get the rink in shape for skating season.

Preparations are around the clock, but ice can only be made at night because of the colder air temperatures and not having to fight the warming rays of the sun. So the crew works on the rink by day and the ice through the wee dark hours.

In order for the process to work, the floor temperature has to be kept between 12-18 degrees. Staff turns on compressors that feed thousands of gallons of refrigerant into the thousands of feet of pipes that cool down the surface to 14 degrees. The cement floor gets a good misting of water with a sprayer for the critically important base layer, then the team sprays this layer of ice with a special white ice-making chemical paint which gives the ice that white sheen skater’s glide over all season. They then spray two more full coats of water mist over a period of 3 hours. With a goal of 2 inches thick of ice in the 14,000 square foot area, the team floods and freezes the entire rink painstakingly layer by layer, hour by hour through the night. The weary team repeats this flooding and freezing process an entire second night before the ice is thick enough for the public to set skates to its surface.

The result of all of this hard work? This morning, a glistening white canvas is the centerpiece to Providence’s downtown skating rink.

Come try out our brand new ice! The Bank of America City Center Skating Rink opens for the season this Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 4pm.  http://www.kennedyplaza.org/skating-information/

-Jen Smith

Fresh ice at the rink