The tents are pitched, the ice is laid, the skates are snug in their cubbies.
Preparations to open a covered ice skating rink in downtown Tacoma this weekend are all but done and organizers are eager to see skaters break in the ice.
"Our whole goal is to bring the community together," said Cameron Fellows of the Tacoma Art Museum, who helped lead the charge to bring the rink to Tollefson Plaza at Pacific Avenue and South 17th Street.
The temporary rink will debut Friday morning. Admission is $8 and rentals are $2. Volunteers are still needed.
Workers have spent the last week checking the ice and hanging advertisements around the rink, which is 40 by 100 feet.
Seven miles of tubing under the surface are piped with glycol, which is kept at a chilly 8 degrees. On top of that is 5 inches of ice that a local figure skating club tested before the rink is opened to the public.
Local high school students and sponsors painted holiday scenes on benches where people can pull on their skates or just sit and take in the scenery.
Also in the Franciscan Polar Plaza (so-named for sponsor Franciscan Health System) is TwoFiveTrees. Justin Mayfield will reclaim his spot for the third year selling Christmas trees. All proceeds go to Local Life, a nonprofit that promotes holistic neighborhoods.
Mayfield commissioned local artist Jeremy Gregory to design and paint a 27-foot mural of Whoville in the plaza, with a Bavarian twist.
"We wanted to embody the feeling of communal connectiveness," he said. "It's all village-y and Christmas-y."
Organizers have also planned themed days to add some holiday spirit to the plaza. There is ugly sweater night, a performance by a figure skating club, open mic nights, a knitting circle, campfires and broom ball.
An attempt to open a rink last year failed after no lead sponsor stepped forward and uncertainty festered over the source of electricity to run the rink. This time, Franciscan Health System agreed to donate $25,000. Then Columbia Bank offered to be a secondary sponsor.
Once that happened, the museum and Texas-based Ice Rink Events made a deal to share the risk.
The museum promised to raise $90,000. The company won't earn money until the rink meets the attendance threshold. After that it will share the profit with the museum, which plans to use the money for the rink in 2012.
The goal is to sell 20,000 tickets before the rink closes Jan. 2. That would mean the company breaks even and there is a better chance the rink becomes an annual tradition for downtown Tacoma.
If there is a lot of interest, Fellows said the rink could stay open beyond Jan. 2.
Tony Kuharski, Ice Rink Events' project manager, said it takes eight days to break down the rink, the hardest part being melting the ice.
"When we leave, you'll never know we were here," he said.
Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8653
stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com
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