For Immediate Release: 11/18/2015 10:22 am
Worcester, MA (November 18, 2015) - City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. announced today that the Worcester Common Oval will open for another family-friendly season of ice skating on Friday, December 4, 2015, starting with the annual Festival of Lights.
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
The City's annual Festival of Lights will take place on Friday, December 4th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on the Worcester Common, behind City Hall, 455 Main St. Worcester. This year's event will feature a visit from Santa Claus, children's choral performances, a holiday tree lighting, concessions, free hot cocoa, horse-drawn wagon rides and public ice skating.
The celebration will open with holiday performances by the Combined Choruses of Goddard and Quinsigamond Schools, directed by Suzanne Miville, and the Quadrivium Ensemble from Burncoat High School conducted by David Twiss. The holiday tree lighting is scheduled to take place at 6:30 PM and then children will have an opportunity to visit Santa on the plaza.
After the tree lighting, the Oval will open for skating. To celebrate the start of the public ice skating season, admission will be free from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM.
The City of Worcester thanks iHeartMedia, the official radio sponsor of the Festival of Lights, and the Telegram & Gazette, the official print sponsor of the event.
PUBLIC SKATING ON THE WORCESTER COMMON OVAL
The City's 12,000-square-foot rink, which opened in 2012, is 4,000 square feet larger than the rink at New York City's Rockefeller Center. The Oval has piped-in music, skate rentals, concessions, holiday lights and more, making it a fun and affordable family-friendly activity. The rink is professionally managed by SMG, the DCU Center's talented management team.
Regular hours of operation will be Fridays 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Saturdays and Sundays 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The season will start December 4th and last through February.
The Oval will also be open for daytime skating during school vacation weeks and on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. During the weeks of December 28th and February 15th, the Oval will be open from 12:00 PM until 5:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, and 12:00 PM until 8:00 PM on Friday, February 19th. The Oval will be closed Christmas Day.
The rink will be open as the weather allows. Cancelations will be posted on http://www.worcestercommonoval.com.
A limited number of free parking spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis in the garage under City Hall.
Admission for open skate is $2 (free for kids 6 and younger), and $3 for skate rentals with a $25 refundable deposit per skate rental. This year, admission will be buy-one-get-one-free for students of area colleges every Friday evening.
The Oval will also be available for private group rentals this year. Please call (508) 929-0163 for information.
For additional information about the Festival of Lights and the Oval, please visit: http://www.worcestercommonoval.com. Visitors are also encouraged to share their Oval experiences on social media, and tag photos with #wooval.
The City of Worcester wants to thank this year's generous Oval sponsors, including Hanover Insurance Company, MCPHS University, College of the Holy Cross, Fallon Health, the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Commerce Bank, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, the Worcester Cultural Coalition and Bay State Savings Bank.
