Rock Hill ice rink to host New Year’s Eve party
Lace up your skates. It’s almost 2016.
Rock Hill’s ice rink will be open late Thursday for a New Year’s Eve party, featuring some added attractions as the countdown to midnight commences.
From 8 p.m. to midnight Thursday, the city is organizing free horse-drawn carriage rides for revelers who come out to welcome in the new year at the holiday ice rink set up on East Black and Saluda streets beside Fountain Park.
“There will be two photo booths set up,” said Downtown Manager Cathy Murphy. “And a live DJ.”
For its first New Year’s Eve bash, Rock Hill is co-opting some elements of the popular Food Truck Fridays that filled Fountain Park this summer. Eight food trucks will be on hand, and beer trucks with brews from Legal Remedy will serve anyone who purchases a wristband.
The city will hand out glasses, beads, tiaras and noisemakers. Murphy said organizers have about 250 of the items on hand for the party.
Anyone who braves falling temperatures until midnight will be able to view the ball drop from New York’s Times Square.
The event is free, although skating on the ice rink costs $10 and a ticket for beer costs $5. Prices at each food truck will vary.
Murphy said she hopes an expected temperature drop this week will help keep the ice rink frozen on the last night of the year. Temperatures in the 70s in recent days have put a strain on the annual holiday attraction.
“Our compressor and our chiller have been working hard” to keep the ice solid for skaters, she said. “We’ve added water and delayed our hours, but we need cooler weather.”
AccuWeather predicts rain will leave the area by Thursday night, and the low is expected to be near 50 degrees.
Once the holiday season is over, work in the park will resume to fix broken pipes in Fountain Park that have left the park’s fountain with only one working spout. That work is expected to begin in January.
Bristow Marchant: 803-329-4062, @BristowatHome
Want to go?
What: New Year’s Eve party
Where: Rock Hill’s holiday ice rink, 205 Saluda St. (by Fountain Park)
When: 8 p.m. to midnight Thursday
This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Rock Hill ice rink to host New Year’s Eve party."