LORAIN, Ohio — A welcome return for many residents and city leaders, an outdoor ice rink is returning to Lorain's Oakwood Park this winter.
The South Lorain neighborhood will be able to enjoy the fun winter activity of ice skating, something that was a tradition for many in the area growing up but has been missing from the area for decades.
"We are excited to bring back a form of entertainment, a form of family, community, back into this area," said Rey Carrion, 6th Ward Councilman.
The project to bring the 100 x 200 foot ice rink to the park this winter is expected to help the neighborhood rebound and get to enjoy the simple things in life.
"We have many people in this area that live in poverty, there's a high unemployment rate," Carrion said. "Having a focus on recreation, having a focus on activities that will bring communities and families together."
An online fundraising campaign launched by the city and Friends of South Lorain raised money to purchase ice skates, available to rent for free to ensure everyone is able to enjoy the rink at no cost to them.
The community answered the call and helped fund the purchase of skates and now are excited to see an outdoor ice rink return to the area to change the perception of South Lorain.
"I'm 100% excited about being here, being able to show the community that we can do this when we all work together," said Bart Gonzalez. "This is ours, we have taken ownership, and right here with the ice skating rink is just an example of that."
Right now, the goal is to have the rink installed and open by the New Year, with plans to keep the rink open through January and February.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
