The Wicker Park ice rink is expected to open on Sunday.
A ribbon cutting for the rink is set for noon Sunday inside the neighborhood’s park of the same name at 1425 N. Damen Ave., said Doug Wood, the Wicker Park Advisory Council’s coordinator of events and initiatives.
Skaters can take to the ice from noon until 8 p.m. Sunday.
But plan ahead. This is strictly a BYO operation: There won’t be any place to rent skates on site. On the upside, admission is free.
Although the non-refrigerated rink was installed in December, the water needed to freeze so the ice would be 4 inches thick, Wood wrote in an email to RedEye.
After several warm spells, Mother Nature now seems to be cooperating. In fact, this may be the only good thing about these below-freezing temperatures.
When the ice is properly frozen, the rink will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily for all ages. An adults-only skate will be from 7 p.m.-8 p.m. daily and 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays.
Organizers say volunteers are needed to shovel snow off and resurface the ice as well as to monitor the rink, which measures 120 feet long by 60 feet wide.
The park advisory council was able to raise more than $30,000 for the rink, which will close in March.
