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Race Around the Rink
Written By: Mary Jane McCall | Issue: December 2024
Ice skating at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park carries on a cherished Highlands tradition – in fact, a far older tradition.
Here’s a fun fact – the oldest ice skates ever found have been carbon-dated to 3000 BC, making them 5,000 years old!
Originally used as a mode of transportation, today’s ice skating has evolved as one of winter’s favorite winter pastimes, one that we’re lucky enough to enjoy every winter right here in downtown Highlands.
This writer has long been fascinated with ice skating. Growing up here, our lakes often froze during the winter. Carter Talley rented skates, a necessity until you were able to beg, plead, and badger your parents for skates of your own, which most often showed up under the Christmas tree.
We lived for ice skating and skated from daylight past dark on lakes illuminated by a roaring fire or headlights from cars aimed at the lake. Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates was a favorite book. Currier and Ives Christmas cards with ice skating scenes were cherished. To this day the ice-skating scene in the movie The Bishop’s Wife is my all-time favorite.
Gone are the days of hoping for temperatures cold enough to freeze lakes. Now we can skate at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park to our heart’s content. The frozen lakes and headlights of yore have been replaced by a well-lit rink, surrounded by twinkling lights, giving the rink a magical glow.
Open Thursday-Sunday, hours are Thursday from 3:30 to 8:00 P.M., Friday from 3:30 to 10:00 P.M., Saturday from 1:00 to 10:00 P.M., and Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 P.M. Extended days and hours during the Christmas holidays are: Monday, December 23, open 1:00 to 8:00 P.M.; Tuesday, Christmas Eve, hours are from 1:00 to 5:00 P.M. The rink will be closed on Christmas Day but reopens on Thursday, December 26 from 1:00 to 8:00 P.M.; Friday, December 27 and Saturday, December 28 from 1:00 to 10:00 P.M.; and Sunday, December 29, from 1:00-5:00 P.M. New Years hours are Monday, December 30 from 1:00-8:00 P.M., and Tuesday, New Year’s Eve from 1:00 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. That’s right, you can ring in the New Year on the ice. Skate rentals are available.
Coffee and hot chocolate are available for purchase and Kelsey-Hutchinson Park is a lovely spot to relax, enjoy a toasty beverage, and spend time with your family and friends.
Make plans now to enjoy some time on the ice this winter or at least drop by to watch and enjoy small-town America at its best.
Private parties can rent the rink on Mondays and Tuesdays when the rink is closed by booking the event two weeks in advance. For more information, visit highlandsnc.org/recreation-ice-rink.
