They laced up their skates and away they went — some a little surer on their blades than others.
For Alex Howard, 8, it was the first time he’d been on skates, and there were a couple of falls, he said.
Otherwise?
“Pretty good,” said Howard.
Howard was there with his friend, Grayson Perro, 7, who has been skating for the past three years his mother, Jessica Johnson, estimated. He too, was a youngster of few words, more anxious to get out onto the ice than talk.
“I like it,” he said as he skated away.
So did Brandy Brooks, who was out on skates for the first time in a few years.
“I saw this was finally open,” so got out her skates, she said. “I’ts great to see something for the kids.”
And with winter school vacation coming up next week, the rink is sure to get a lot of use.
The rink, complete with a refrigeration unit that will allow folks to skate in temperatures approaching 50 degrees, was a gift to the community, financed through a grant from the William Oscar Emery Trust and through donations from Townhouse Properties, H.A. Mapes, Inc., Garnsey Brothers Insurance and SIS Bank. Installed a few weeks ago, there were some initial hiccups, but it is now up and open and ready for skaters.
There will be a ribbon cutting and dedication at 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 27 — part of the larger program that day — topped off with fireworks — that marks Sanford’s 250th incorporation as a municipality.
The rink is for skating only — no pucks, sticks or hockey. It is open daily and there are lights around the perimeter for evening skating.
John Paul Alexander, 12, was among those testing out the ice on Wednesday. He’s been skating for the past three years, and said the Central Park Skating Rink is handier than the Waterhouse Center rink in Kennebunk
“It’s nice,” he said. “And it gives me something to do after school.”
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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