Surf, sand and ice

Mike Sciacca

Surf City, known for its waves and its world-famous pier, added a

twist to its history Sunday when a portion of Pier Plaza became a

winter wonderland.

On a chilly afternoon, with the sun dropping behind a faint

Catalina Island in the distance, “Meet Me At the Ice Rink,” a

holiday-themed recreational outdoor ice skating rink, officially

opened to the public.

Children and adults bundled up in sweaters and sweatshirts, some

wearing scarves around their necks and gloves to keep their hands

warm, laced up their skates as they took the first spins on the

40-by-80-foot rink.

Open skating and professional ice skating lessons are offered each

day.

Curious onlookers walking the pier area stopped for a peak, many

surprised to see an outdoor ice rink. Holiday music is piped into the

area, which is at the northwest corner of Main Street and Pacific

Coast Highway.

It is the first time an outdoor ice rink has been set up Downtown,

and one of two constructed this fall in Orange County The other rink

opened at the Irvine Spectrum Center on Nov. 15.

“I think it’s awesome,” said resident Myra Sonnenberg who, along

with her husband, Greg, was among the first skaters on Sunday to try

out the ice skating rink.

The Sonnenbergs said they specifically went out Sunday to buy new

ice skates for Surf City’s ice rink. The couple said it was the first

time they had been ice skating since moving to California from

Chicago 12 years ago.

“It’s not every day you get to skate on ice and be right next to

the ocean,” Myra Sonnenberg added. “It’s a pretty unique experience.”

Despite the impending sunset and the late afternoon air becoming

increasingly chilly, beach volleyball was being played on either side

of the pier, Farmer’s Market went on as usual at Pier Plaza, and

surfers, coming up from the water, continually passed by the ice

rink, wearing wetsuits and carrying their surfboards.

The winter wonderland was created by Lenny Davis, president of Ice

Cold Entertainment, which teamed with Mendelson Entertainment Group

to construct the outdoor ice skating rink at Pier Plaza and Irvine

Spectrum. The rink, Davis said, is kept cold by a chiller, which runs

continually, maintaining an average ice temperature between 16 and 18

degrees Fahrenheit. It will be in operation seven days a week through

Jan. 19. It can accommodate up to 80 skaters at a time.

The grand opening was originally set for Nov. 20, but had to be

pushed back, Davis said, because of an underestimation of the slope

of Pier Plaza.

“There’s a substantial level of unevenness there, which was our

biggest problem,” he said. “We had to make adjustments. We built a

sub-structure, which is constructed to level out the ice surface.”

A new grand opening was set for Saturday afternoon -- but it, too,

was postponed.

Davis spent two nights, Friday and Saturday, in Huntington, just

to make sure the ice was “ready to go,” he said.

The process of building the ice began at 4 p.m. Friday and lasted

through the night into Saturday morning.

“We had perfect ice until about 9:30 Saturday morning,” he said.

“Then, the sun came out and melted it -- not completely away but just

enough to make it too soft for use. We had to postpone the opening

yet again.

“There are many factors that go into getting an outdoor ice rink

opened, and the key component is weather.”

Davis said he had to “flood” the ice to make it hard again, a

process he did Saturday night. On Sunday morning, he purchased

insulating foam and created a “blanket” for the ice to keep the sun

off its surface.

The ice rink finally opened to its first skaters Sunday afternoon.

“The rink has been well-received in Irvine and now, in Huntington

Beach,” Davis said, adding the rink may come back to Huntington next

November, depending on an “evaluation of the situation.”

“It depends on a few things,” he said. “You can define the success

of this rink many ways, but to me, success is not just measured by

revenue but by things like, did it bring families out for a good time

or bring recognition to the city, or was it a lot of fun to be ice

skating next to the ocean? To me, it’s already been a success because

we have an ice rink at the beach in Huntington Beach, which has never

been done before.”

Naida Osline, specific events supervisor for the City of

Huntington Beach, said Mendelson Entertainment Group first came to

the city last year with the proposal of setting up an outdoor ice

skating rink at Pier Plaza.

“But there wasn’t enough time to piece it all together, to get

permits and such,” Osline said. “Downtown merchants really wanted to

see this materialize, and that created groundswell interest in

bringing an ice skating rink here this year.

“The rink offers fun family activity, and people are having a

great time out there,” she said. “It’s definitely a Southern

California Christmas card, right here in Huntington Beach.”

Shana Lewis, 8, of Huntington Beach, was surprised to find an

outdoor rink by the pier.

“I was really expecting it to be indoors, so I think this is

great,” said Shana, who came to the ice rink with family and friends.

“It’s neat to be ice skating outside by the pier and by the beach.

I’m not really that good at ice skating, but I’m here to have fun. It

looks like everybody else is having a fun time, too.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171.