SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif- San Luis Obispo's first ice skating rink is off to a speedy start. Patrons rushed over today, after opening their presents to hit the ice.
Christmas lights, new memories, and even a tumble is what the new rink is bringing to San Luis Obispo. "It's our first time as a family, my husband and I have skated but our kids have not," said Jodie Steele, a community member. "We were more excited, we were like oh something different in San Luis," said Claire Villani, a community member.
That attitude has carried across the county with sold out skate sessions. "We came on Sunday morning and they only allow 150 people on the ice so we bought our tickets today figuring everyone would be opening up gifts," said Vallani. For some people, the cold weather activity brought back the feeling of an old home.
"My husbands from New York, so he likes the ice and the cold, its a little taste of the winter for him," said Steele. It's not only a taste of winter in SLO County, a portion of the ticket sales are going to the non-profit Big Brothers Big Sisters.
"The ticket campaign with our season passes, we've sold over a hundred of those, so we have already given a couple thousand dollars to Big Brothers Big Sisters, so it's going great so far," said the owner of the rink, Jon Hansen. Hansen said people in San Luis Obispo have warmed up so much to their cold weather fun they expect people to come back for more next year.
"The smiles on peoples faces, and the looks of them when they start skating have been amazing, I think we have started a new holiday tradition here in San Luis Obispo."
The rinks owners said they hope to raise at least five thousand dollars for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
