Roller skating on City Island last weekend. Photo courtesy of the City of Harrisburg.
Harrisburg is offering the community a new way to have fun this month on City Island.
For the month of March, the city is hosting roller skating in the carousel pavilion, as a way to try new initiatives to better utilize the large island.
Roller skating kicked off this past weekend in the pavilion, which is located in front of the FNB Field stadium near the island train station parking lot. Skating will continue every Friday and Saturday through March 29.
“We heard a lot from the community asking for more fun things to do on City Island,” said Emma Simpson, community events coordinator for the city. “We are really excited to offer this.”
Family skate hours will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with an adult skate from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Admission is $5 and skate rentals are $2. Chips and water will be available for $1 each.
Harrisburg owns the pavilion space on the island, renting it out as well, and purchased roller skates for the rink. They also made some updates to the pavilion’s polished concrete floor to fix cracks and make it safe for skating. Funding for the skating came from a sponsorship from Explore HBG and the Parks and Recreation Department’s events budget, Simpson said.
Simpson said that the first skate was a success.
“It went really well. Everyone was having a good time,” she said.
There will also be special themed nights for St. Patrick’s Day weekend and a “glow skate” on March 21 and 22.
While the rink is only slated to be open for the month, due to scheduling conflicts with the pavilion, Simpson said that the city may host pop-up skating events in the summer.
In another attempt to test a fun concept for City Island, Harrisburg will host an Arcade Night at the island’s old arcade building on April 26. From 5 to 9 p.m., the community can play games like Skeeball, Pacman, Donkey Kong and air hockey for free.
Harrisburg plans to rent about 12 arcade games for the night.
Simpson sees both the skating and arcade night as pilot programs to gauge community response and engagement. She said they are constantly receiving and considering community feedback that they get at parks and rec events, through surveys and that they see on social media.
And with the recent increase in the number of staff in the department, Simpson said that they have a higher capacity for implementing new ideas.
For more information on upcoming Harrisburg Parks and Recreation Department events, including roller skating and Arcade Night, visit their Facebook page.
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