BENTONVILLE -- Blustery winds didn't keep skaters from enjoying the opening day of outdoor ice skating at The Rink at Lawrence Plaza in downtown Bentonville.
Addie Reid, who turns 3 in late December, saw snow flurries when she opened her window Saturday morning and asked if she could go ice skating, said her mother, Shelby Reid of Centerton.
Holiday Events
• Nov. 28, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.: Small Business Saturday
• Dec. 4, 5–8 p.m.: Visit Santa at the Walmart Museum
• Dec. 12, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.: Bentonville Christmas Parade
• Dec. 12, 6 p.m.: Frosty’s Flicks at Lawrence Plaza - “The Grinch”
• Dec. 17, 5 p.m.: Last day to mail letters to Santa at Lawrence Plaza
• Dec. 19, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.: Visit Santa at the Walmart Museum
• Dec. 19, 6 p.m.: Frosty’s Flicks at Lawrence Plaza - “The Santa Clause”
• Dec. 23, 5–8 p.m.: Visit Santa at the Walmart Museum
• Dec. 26, 6 p.m.: Frosty’s Flicks at Lawrence Plaza - “Frozen”
• Dec. 31, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.: Noon Year’s Eve Family Celebration at Crystal Bridges
• Dec. 31, 9 p.m.–1 p.m.: NEW 365 – New Year’s Eve Party at Crystal Bridges
Source: Visit Bentonville
The Rink
For more information about the activities at The Rink at Lawrence Plaza, visit www.playbentonville…. Lawrence Plaza can be found under the “facilities” tab on the right side of the homepage.
Source: Staff Report
"I was like 'oh my goodness yes, and we can go today,'" Reid said.
The Reids were among about 50 people who rented skates during the first hour of public skating Saturday, according to Parks and Recreation employees' tallies. A handful of others used their own skates.
It was Addie's first time to ice skate, her mother said while helping the girl get her skates on. Shelby Reid said it was only maybe the second time she had worn ice skates herself.
"I don't know how well it will go over," she said with a laugh.
The outdoor rink in downtown Bentonville gives children an opportunity to experience something new, Reid said, explaining that her family probably wouldn't travel to Springdale to skate at the Jones Center.
Even if they did go to the Jones Center, that recreation facility only has an indoor ice rink. The Rink at Lawrence Plaza is the only outdoor ice rink in Northwest Arkansas.
Elsewhere in the state, the Arkansas Skatium in Little Rock offers indoor ice skating. The city in years past had also offered an outdoor ice rink in the downtown River Market district during the holiday season, but the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau announced in 2013 that the rink would not be returning that year or regularly in the future.
Amber Krauft and her two sons, Hudson, 9, and William, 7, decided to go skating Saturday after driving by the Bentonville rink and seeing others enjoying themselves, they said.
The two boys were familiar with the splash pad Lawrence Plaza offers during the warm months, but they didn't know it turned into an ice rink in the winter.
"We told them it was like rollerblading, and they're pretty good rollerbladers," Amber Krauft said. "They're doing pretty good."
Temperatures were in the high 30s when the rink opened at noon Saturday. Winds of about 15 mph made it feel like winter had arrived.
The normal costs of $3 to skate and $2 for skate rentals were waived for opening day. The rink was open from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and then again after the lighting of the square, the lighting of the community Christmas tree at Lawrence Plaza and a performance by members of the Arkansas Figure Skating Association.
Other seasonal activities are scheduled in downtown Bentonville from now until mid-January. Some include "Frosty Flicks" movies at Lawrence Plaza, exhibitions by the Arkansas Figure Skating Association and Santa visits at the Wal-Mart Museum.
"Bentonville is such a magical place during the holidays," Kalene Griffith, Visit Bentonville president and chief executive officer, said in a news release. "The downtown square sparkles with dancing lights as skaters float across the ice at Lawrence Plaza. It's a place for making memories with friends and family."
Metro on 11/22/2015