The Office of Mayor Will Flanagan provided an opportunity for kids and parents to have some fun during the winter vacation by providing a free skating rink right next to Government Center. By closing off one block of Sullivan Drive on the south side of the building, Artificial Ice Events of Peabody, MA, was able to install a 40 by 60 foot artificial skating rink. The company even provide skates for those who do not have their own. Several of the parents were there to encourage their children to try skating for the first time, and this was the perfect opportunity to do it in a safe environment. Since the surface is not as slippery as real ice, it affords first-timers the chance to get used to being on skates and to try maneuvering with less fear of falling. "And there's no way anyone will fall through," quipped Marvin Kalanderi, one of the crew who installed the rink. The $17,000 cost is being paid by Greater Fall River Recreation, along with the city’s Community Development Agency. Click here for a short video of the opening night on February 15, 2013. Click here for the Herald News article. For more information about the event, contact Jamison Souza at  508-679-0922.

(Top row) Tom Gendrolis helps his daughter, Mackenzie, try on some skates while Gary Reid helps his daughter, Sarah, try on hers before venturing out on the "ice." (Row two) Phil Sabatino of Fall River Government Televison interviews Mayor Flanagan about the rink before Brooke Silvia takes a turn. (Bottom row, right) Thomas Martel is interviewed as his daughter and her friends wave to the camera.