Visions of sugarplums may have faded with the end of the holiday season for many Allston youngsters, but an imaginative re-use of a garage on Western Avenue has given Allston families their own winter wonderland. That was the scene in Allston Friday night (Jan. 15) as more than 100 community residents flocked to the grand opening of the Harvard Allston Skating Rink.<\/p>\n
The facility was so recently renovated that the smell of fresh paint lingered in the air. Harvard Executive Vice President Katherine Lapp said that the idea for the rink \u201csurfaced before Christmas,\u201d and that staffers from Harvard Real Estate Services<\/a>, the Allston Development Group, and Harvard Public Affairs and Communications<\/a>, all in close cooperation with the city of Boston, turned the project around in less than a month, from building the rink and securing permits, to painting and decorating the space.<\/p>\n \u201cComing here today and seeing people of all ages \u2014 and more and more people coming \u2014 is a validation of Harvard\u2019s showing its support for Allston residents,\u201d said Lapp, noting that the crowded, cheerful scene looked like a Norman Rockwell painting.<\/p>\n Savoring the night\u2019s arctic thrill, parents watched their bouncing, skate-clad children from the periphery, including a Brighton resident named Caroline, who heard about the rink through her two children, who attend the Harvard Allston Education Portal. \u201cIt\u2019s fantastic,\u201d she said, as her kids skated by.<\/p>\n The temporary rink, located at 168 Western Ave., is a way to increase community-oriented uses of the University\u2019s Allston properties while it looks for long-term building tenants. It will remain open until March 28.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are delighted to introduce an interim use that engages our neighbors and provides an inviting new space where families can spend time together this winter,\u201d said Christine Heenan, vice president of Harvard Public Affairs and Communications. \u201cWe hope that, like the Harvard Allston Education Portal across the street, this will be both a gathering place and an enriching and lively anchor in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Brighton High School student David Yu, 17, took full advantage of the venue on opening night. It was the second time ever ice skating for Yu, who said he was no fan of the falls he was taking, which were plenty, as evidenced by his wet sweatshirt. \u201cBut I make an interesting wipeout,\u201d he said, demonstrating his novel form for falling with grace. \u201cThis is too fun, even with the wipeouts.\u201d<\/p>\n Allston Brighton Task Force member John Bruno was equally delighted by the festivities. \u201cTo utilize a space like this and to see young people smiling \u2014 and adults smiling, too \u2014 it\u2019s a big thank you to the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at all the families and neighborhood residents,\u201d remarked City Councilor Mark Ciommo, a one-time Allston-Brighton youth hockey player and former hockey coach. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n Visitors to the rink can bring their own skates or borrow free pairs. Skates are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with limited numbers.<\/p>\n The rink will be open on Fridays from\u00a03 to 8 p.m., Saturdays from\u00a010 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from\u00a010 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be special hours during Boston\u2019s school vacation week (Feb. 15-19), from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n As the night wound down, families drank hot chocolate and collected raffle prizes, which included Harvard sports tickets and sweatshirts. Emcee Kevin McCluskey, senior director of community relations, handed off a coveted envelope filled with Harvard vs. Cornell hockey tickets. \u201cYou can\u2019t get these tickets anywhere but here,\u201d he told the crowd.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, back on the ice, mother Sonia Simoun helped her daughter Alya, 10, lace up her skates. \u201cMy children can walk here,\u201d Simoun said. \u201cWe\u2019re very excited.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Visions of sugarplums may have faded with the end of the holiday season for many Allston youngsters, but an imaginative re-use of a garage on Western Avenue has given Allston families their own winter wonderland. That was the scene in Allston Friday night (Jan. 15) as more than 100 community residents flocked to the grand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}