Bend’s Pavilion opens ice season on Halloween

The Bend Park and Recreation District will kick off The Pavilion’s ice season on Oct. 31. On Halloween, The Pavilion will be open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. for open skate, giving community members their first chance of the season to get on the ice.

A special opening day fee of $6 per person including skate rental will be offered. Skaters are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes if they choose.

The 2017-18 ice season is expected to run through mid-April, weather permitting. The Pavilion will be open from dawn to late night, seven days a week, and include public open skate opportunities and expanded programs.

Weekly schedules are available at http://www.bendparksandrec.org/the-pavilion/schedules . Public skate sessions include open skate, family skate, parent-tot skate, youth and adult stick time, pick-up hockey and curling time.

The Pavilion is offering season passes for unlimited public skate session use along with options for 10-visit passes and single-visit entrance. Season passes purchased before Nov. 1 receive 10% off or $16-$25 in savings.

As a new service this year, helmets will be available to borrow at The Pavilion. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that ice skaters use hockey, bicycle, ski or skateboard helmets .

At the Pavilion, all hockey participants are required to wear a helmet on the ice. The new helmets available to borrow at the Pavilion are multisport helmets that meet national standards.

“We encourage all skaters to wear a helmet while on the ice,” said Kevin Collier, supervisor for the facility. “It’s a great idea at the mountain and we’d like it to become routine on our ice too.”

Youth and adult hockey programs , curling and skate lessons begin in November. Many programs for November and December are nearly full with limited availability for registration now at https://register.bendparksandrec.org . In addition, there are pre-season hockey clinics and scheduled specialized ice times for hockey and curling practice available beginning Nov. 1.

A second session of ice skating and sports programs, offered from January to April, will open for registration, beginning on Dec. 11.