The Grayslake Area Chamber of Commerce’s third-annual Skate in the Park Saturday attracted an overflow crowd on the Gelatin Park ice rink.
The 60-by-60-foot rink featured an eight-inch-deep slab of ice that crews watered down Saturday morning to smooth the surface before the three-hour event. The rink also uses chillers when necessary.
People could have s’mores made over a fire pit with long thin sticks that were provided. People of all skating abilities were welcome, and youngsters got a chance for a small golden trophy in a “Shoot the Puck Challenge.”
A donut truck was on the premises with treats for purchase.
Event coordinator Jim Starwalt, chamber board member, said Skate in the Park serves as the organization’s launch of its 2025 calendar. Signage along the rink listed many of the event’s sponsors.
“It’s just a great thing for everybody to come on out and just have some fun,” he said. “Just a fun, free thing to do.
“Grayslake is just all community-oriented,” Starwalt continued. “Everybody supports each other, all the businesses in town support each other and you’ll find all the residents support the local businesses.
“Grayslake is one of the close hometowns that we really have in Lake County,” he said. “We kind of do this just to support the community (and) let everybody know it’s a great hometown place to be.”
Incoming chamber board president Randy Cashmore said, “It’s always been what I would call … a little piece of Norman Rockwell right here in the Chicago area; a cute little downtown.”
The event launched with an ice skating solo by Ryan Shaffer, 14, a ninth-grader from Mettawa, a featured advanced skater from The Glacier Ice Arena of Vernon Hills. Shaffer has a goal of becoming an Olympic skater, adding his a favorite skill is doing a double Lutz jump.
“I’m going to try,” he said.
Ryan’s coach is Christopher Howarth, a 1980 Olympian in figure skating who is associated with the Vernon Hills ice skating facility. Karen Lavris, a figure skating coach and marketing director at The Glacier Ice Arena, was Ryan’s first coach and noticed him as a small child trying to ice skate.
Since then, “It must have been the love that he had from skating because look at him today, he is fantastic,” Lavris, a former Ice Capades skater, told the audience before Ryan’s solo performance.
Everett Herrmann, 3, of Grayslake, skated while using a handlebar frame the family had brought.
“We love it, it’s fun,” Everett’s mother Ashley said.
Attempting Shoot the Puck was Mina Blessing, 6, a first-grader from Gurnee, who won a gold trophy.
“We love it,” Mina’s mother Christine said. “We come every year.”
