Downtown Los Angeles gets its seasonal patch of winter this afternoon. The Holiday Ice Rink at Pershing Square opens at 3 p.m. today and is scheduled to stay on the ice daily through Jan. 3.
The sheet covers 7,200 square feet at 532 S. Olive St., MyNewsLA reports, with 60-minute sessions beginning every 90 minutes and weekday hours from 3 to 10 p.m. The rink's site lists the season as open daily from Nov. 12 through Jan. 3.
An Hour On, Then a Reset
The session clock is the operating plan. Skaters get 60 minutes, and the next group starts 90 minutes after the one before it, which leaves half an hour to clear and reset the ice. On weekdays that cycle runs from 3 to 10 p.m.
Sundays do not wait for midafternoon. Classical music is booked for the noon and 1:30 p.m. sessions, so at least one day of the week puts skates on the ice while downtown is still on its lunch hour.
A Small Sheet With a Long Memory
Organizers told MyNewsLA the rink draws more than 45,000 skaters and 221,000 spectators a year, and that this season marks more than 25 years of holiday skating at the park. Those are organizer figures. Set beside a 7,200-square-foot outdoor sheet, they describe a downtown habit that has outlasted a lot of flashier plans.
Willy Bietak, president of Los Angeles-based Willy Bietak Productions, described the rink in that report as a must-see for residents and holiday visitors embracing winter in Los Angeles. The ice is the part of that pitch you can actually stand on.
Nov. 19, Carolers, Then the Tree
The return celebration is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 19, with skating performances, music, holiday refreshments and a tree-lighting at the close. LA Ice Theater, a hula hoop skater and the Grand Arts Holiday Jazz Carolers are on the bill. The carolers are from Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, and Buddy the Elf, the character from Elf the Musical, is scheduled to appear.
A City of Los Angeles page describes a Pershing Square holiday opening that paired the rink's grand opening with the annual lighting of a 75-foot tree. This year's announced lighting comes at the end of the Nov. 19 party.
Onesies to Y2K, With a Broadway Detour
Tuesdays After Dark is a series of themed sessions beginning at 7:30 p.m. KFI AM 640 lists seven: Onesies Tuesday on Nov. 17, Friendsgiving on Nov. 24, Broadway on Ice on Dec. 1, Latin Holiday Night on Dec. 8, K-Pop Holiday Skate on Dec. 15, A Country Christmas on Dec. 22 and Y2K Nostalgic New Year on Dec. 29.
The Dec. 1 Broadway session features music and activities inspired by The Lion King and Elf the Musical, MyNewsLA reports. Both shows are at the Hollywood Pantages during the rink's seasonal run, so the theme is a downtown tie-in, not just a costume suggestion. Onesies, five days from opening night, asks less of the wardrobe.
Disco After Dark, Strings at Noon
DJ Spotlight sessions are set for 7:30 and 9 p.m. on Dec. 3, 10 and 17, with music ranging from soul and funk to disco, new wave and pop. Classical Sundays, presented by Classical California, put classical music on the noon and 1:30 p.m. sessions each Sunday.
Tickets are on sale, and the posted price is not identical everywhere. The rink site lists general admission, skate rental included, at $23.32. Beverly Press reported $22 for that same package. The place to settle it is the checkout total at holidayicerinkdowntownla.com, before the laces go on.
