Saturday, Jan. 23, was a good day for skating. It was cold. The ice was solid. The sun was shining.
Amie Day of Flossmoor and her two boys, Owen, 7, and Sam, 10, enjoyed the opportunity to get some fresh air and exercise at the Flossmoor Park rinks.
Day said the family had been to the park to skate a few times this winter.
“It’s a nice way to get some exercise,” she said. “Especially with COVID, it’s nice to have more outdoor winter activities for us to do safely.”
Brianna Roberts of Homewood was skating for the first time this year. She said she was used to skating indoors, so the texture of the ice took a little getting used to.
“I’m just happy there’s a place to skate because the H-F Ice Arena is closed,” she said.
While the Days and Robertses were enjoying the west rink, three hockey players, Alex Tessari of Tinley Park, Tom Rodeghier of New Lenox and Tim Furtek of Homewood were practicing on the east rink.
Tessari and Rodeghier noted that well-maintained outdoor rinks are not easy to find, and they appreciated Homewood-Flossmoor Park District’s efforts to provide one.
The two rinks were purchased last year by the park district to provide better ice than the traditional method of flooding bare ground.
Last year, Flossmoor’s Future hosted a series of winter festivals at the rinks. “Skaterdays” had to be put on hiatus this year because of the pandemic.
The park district also has an ice rink at Willowview Park at Willow School in Homewood.