First winter of skating wraps up at Dennison Ice Rink
DENNISON (WJER) (Feb. 28, 2024) – After a successful first season, the Dennison Ice Rink will be going into storage until November.
Mayor Greg DiDonato says setup was a challenge because of the weight of the panels, so they’re planning to have a local moving company do the heavy lifting once the rink is disassembled.
“We’re trying to prepare and be smarter about how we’re gonna move a lot of the rubber floors and different stuff, just trying to do a better job this time. That’s one of the reasons we hired a moving company so we have better trucks to load it where they have the docks in the back that go up and down and all of that.”
The village collected donations, sold banners, and received a couple of grants to build the rink, which made its debut on Halloween night and wrapped up the skating season this past Sunday. DiDonato says over 5,000 people from all over Tuscarawas County and beyond came out to experience the area’s newest wintertime attraction.
“We also had scatterings out of Harrison, Carroll County, and Coshocton but we do have people that come from several other states. Those eight days they have Polar Express, I think that’s what gave us the Pennsylvaina, the West Virginia, the Indiana, and then without a doubt some during the holidays with people coming home to visit and gather.”
The same company that runs the seasonal ice skating rink in Cambridge oversees the one in Dennison and splits the profits with the village. DiDonato expects some adjustments to operating hours and more events during the second year of the partnership.