Teens skate on the temporary skating rink at Youngs Creek Park on Nov. 25 in Franklin. The rink, which was open from Nov. 16 to Dec. 9, was a success, according to parks officials, bringing 2,430 people out during its run.
Looking back on the first year of its public skating rink, it appears Franklin parks officials have stuck the landing.
Throughout November and into December, the parks department’s skating rink at Youngs Creek Park brought hundreds of people out to glide over the synthetic ice-free surface.
Kids skated with their families, teens wobbled around the rink with their friends, and even older adults got in on the fun.
“For the first time bringing ice skating to one of our communities, we thought it was extremely successful. It provided not only local residents but also visitors with something to do in the winter — something that was fun and would create memories,” said Kenneth Kosky, executive director of Festival Country Indiana, the county’s tourism organization.
Parks officials and tourism leaders have been pleasantly surprised with the response to the first year of the public skating rink. From the facility’s opening on Nov. 16 to its final day on Dec. 9, more than 2,400 people came to use the rink. People came from all over Johnson County, and as far away as Indianapolis, Bloomington and Plainfield, to take part in the seasonal sensation.
Despite the strong showing, Franklin leaders have expressed their desire to bring the rink back as a special event every few years, rather than have it become an annual offering.
The potential remains to have the rink available in other Johnson County communities in future years, Kosky said.
“We definitely want it to be in one of our communities every year,” he said.
The idea for a skating rink had been an idea among local leaders for years, and Franklin park officials have contemplated creating a temporary ice skating rink to operate in conjunction with the annual holiday lighting for nearly a decade. Because of the cost, it never came to fruition until 2021, when county tourism organization Festival County Indiana announced plans to offer a grant for a local city or town willing to host a temporary ice skating rink.
Franklin was the first community to receive the grant, but pushed back plans to open a rink until 2023, said Holly Johnston, program and event coordinator for the Franklin Parks Department.
The $50,000 grant covered the cost to rent a 2,000-square-foot synthetic ice skating rink, a supply of rental skates, and for Greenfield-based Anytime Ice Skating to provide a team of four people to staff the rink during the days it was open. Franklin Parks and Recreation provided most of the staff to operate the facility, Johnston said in November.
The synthetic rink was created out of a high-tech plastic that mimics the feel and slickness of ice. The material is eco-friendly and made from a non-toxic, recyclable acrylic material.
Because it is synthetic, the rink can be used regardless of weather. They only had to close two partial days due to rain during the run of the rink, according to the report Johnston gave during the Franklin park board’s Dec. 21 meeting.
The community could come and use the rink Thursday and Friday evenings, and all day on Saturday and Sunday. Then during the week, the parks department invited local schools and youth organizations to schedule field trips — a decision which proved to be immensely popular.
More than 560 skaters came to the rink through field trips — to go along with the 1,868 people who used the facility on the weekend, according to the park board report.
“We got a lot of people coming from quite a wide area,” Kosky said.
Following the success of the skating rink, Festival Country Indiana approached Franklin officials about bringing it back in 2024. Parks officials decided they’d rather it be a special occasion every few years; though it was fun, staffing the rink during the holiday season — particularly during a time when they’re planning for the upcoming year — took a toll on the department, Johnston said during the December parks board meeting.
Still, the option remains to have other communities throughout Johnson County host the park in coming years, Kosky said. Already, Festival Country Indiana has received a grant application to bring a rink to Edinburgh in December, surrounding the town’s Holiday of Lights.
“They feel that festival is already very successful for them, but they recognize that bringing skating would allow them to bring it up a notch, and attract visitors from out of town,” Kosky said. “And we’re not opposed to bringing it to a couple of communities, if another one wanted to get on board this winter.”
AT A GLANCE
Franklin Skating Rink
What: A synthetic skating rink set up at Youngs Creek Park in Franklin thanks to a $50,000 grant from Festival Country Indiana.
When: Nov. 16-Dec. 9
Where did they come from: Visitors to the rink came from Johnson County communities such as Franklin, Edinburgh, Greenwood, Trafalgar, Nineveh and Whiteland, as well as from Shelbyville, Plainfield, Columbus, Fishers, Hope, Bloomington and Indianapolis. The farthest visitor was from Oklahoma.
Number of skaters during public skate: 1,868
Number of skaters during field trips: 562
Total number of skaters: 2,430
