Quirky Karen Takes a Whirl at Wollman Rink

I decided to celebrate the new year with a dry January—not the easiest thing to do in cocktail town. So I was thinking about ways to enjoy Manhattan that don’t involve Manhattans. I hit upon the idea of skating at Wollman Rink in Central Park. It’s a beautiful setting any time of year, but especially after a fresh snowfall.

I dragged my crew (Amy and Phil) there after a recent snow, and we tested out the dry January theory by drinking hot apple cider while we waited for the Olympia machine to clear the ice. For some reason, the rinks in New York don’t seem to use the classic Zamboni machines that New York Ranger fans and fans in 12,000 other cities around the world recall. (Zamboni is celebrating their 75th anniversary this year—see their Fun Facts page.) Amy speculates that Zamboni is like Kleenex now—if you’re thinking nose blowing/ice clearing, you’re thinking Kleenex/Zamboni. Olympia, shmolympia.

The ice clearing wasn’t especially effective. It could be the three inches of fresh snow, or it could be the Olympia—you decide. The ice was rutted and still had about an inch of snow on it. I was ginger and wobbly at first. Foot muscles I didn’t remember started to bark. But after a few turns around the rink, the old magic came back.

In spite of the snow and cold, skaters were out in full force. Families, friends, and foolhardy board clingers, they were all at the rink. It was even more chaotic than Grand Central Station, with people skating in all different trajectories, at all different speeds, with varying levels of ability. Many teetered on the verge of falling to the ice, and quite a few skaters actually did so. So cute! Wollman Rink is a microcosm of our 8.5 million New Yorkers and 4 million visitors, and I believe half of them were at the rink on Saturday.

It was a mad scene, and I loved it! Everyone seemed to be having a great time. New York is a skating town! Not just a cocktail town!

I started skating the year Vancouver’s own Karen Magnussen was the 1972 Olympic silver medalist in figure skating. The following year she was the World Champion. Magnussen began skating at age six. In 2015, recalling lessons on pebbly curling ice at Vancouver’s Kerrisdale Arena, she commented, “The ice was anything but perfect, but I think that made you tough.” OK, so we’ll go with that at Wollman Rink as well!

Karen was our darling. She was always on TV back then, and she certainly inspired me to go for the double axle. I never reached that level, alas. Another inspiration, my aunt Deirdre Rempel was a wonderful figure skater. She was invited to join the traveling theatrical ice skating show called the Ice Capades. She chose a career in dancing instead, and I regret I never got to see her skate. My family went to see the Ice Capades when my sister Kim and I were young, and I’ve never forgotten the magical feeling of watching the graceful skaters glide and soar in their glittering costumes.

My first winter in New York, I was thrilled to visit the iconic rink at Rockefeller Center. Skating past the famous Christmas tree and the statue of golden Prometheus forever falling to the ice at rink side, I felt I was inside that magical world of the Ice Capades. I was devastated in December 2020 when I heard the rink was scheduled for demolition in 2021. It has since been rebuilt, of course, but the new open design doesn’t have the feeling of being inside a secret fairy world. I spent as much time there as I could the December before the demolition, and I wrote this story about my experiences: https://klove.nyc/ruling-rockefeller-rink/. Check it out for a giggle.

Further into the pandemic, I thought I would go for the double axle again, and I started taking figure skating lessons at Chelsea Piers Sky Rink, which has both skating and hockey classes. The Sky Rink is another magical venue, with glorious views of the Hudson River. The lessons were excellent, crafted to build skill upon skill until the students were doing the most amazing things. I highly recommend their classes.

On the other hand, if you want to go for a whirl without too much investment, Bryant Park’s rink has free skating every day. Free except for the skate rental, that is. If you want to skip the rental fee and use your own skates, you have to lurk online and try to nab the limited number of spots they release once a week. I went on New Year’s Day one year. Perhaps not the best day to go, as it was excessively crowded, plus all they played was Christmas carols, which I was well over by then.

Okay, so that’s my overview of some of the more famous skating venues in Manhattan, and my dry January cranky kvetching about them. See you next month, from a well-oiled writer’s chair.

Style Notes

I found this cute elf skating costume at Hustler Hollywood on West 8th Street. I sought a white faux fur jacket to go with it and discovered a fantastic new vintage store on West 26th Street—Flamingo’s Vintage Pound. Clothing, furs, and leathers go for $17.99/pound! What a concept. I’ve had these old-school made-in-Canada white leather skates for many years. My sister Kim knitted this gorgeous toque for me. Yes, that’s Canadian for beanie.

Karen Rempel is a New York-based writer, model, and artist. Her Karen’s Quirky New York column illuminates quirky clothes and places in Manhattan. For past stories, see https://karenqs.nyc.