WASHINGTON (AP) —
Jill Biden is bringing the holiday theme of “Magic, Wonder and Joy” to the White House grounds by creating an ice rink on the South Lawn for kids to skate and play hockey in December.
The first lady was scheduled to reveal the ice rink after sunset on Wednesday alongside Brian Boitano, a gold medal-winning figure skater from the 1988 Olympics, and the beloved comic-strip character Snoopy. Earlier in the week, she revealed holiday decorations inside the White House intended to capture the “magic, wonder and joy” of the holidays as experienced in childhood.
The 50-by-70-foot (15.2-by-21.3-meter) rink will be open throughout December, but specific days and hours were not announced. Schoolchildren in the Washington, D.C. area and children from families of service members, frontline workers, first responders, and teachers will be invited to skate.
The National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association will provide lessons through their “Learn to Play/Learn to Skate” program, offering first-time participants free equipment, weekly sessions, and coaching.
This is not the first ice rink to grace the White House grounds. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter, built an ice rink on the South Lawn for Olympian Peggy Fleming to perform during White House Christmas receptions.
Additional supporters of the new rink include the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation, and Comcast Spectacor.
