ICE RINK TAKING ACTION OUTSIDE.Byline: David Greenberg Daily News Staff Writer Mardy Medders vividly recalls the big snow of 1972 in Chicago. She built an igloo in her back yard and wore ice skates so her Saint Bernard Great Saint Bernard (alt. 8,110 ft/2,472 m), on the Italian-Swiss border, links Valais canton, Switzerland, with Valle d'Aosta, Italy. Frequented by the Gauls and Romans, the pass also was crossed by Charlemagne, Emperor Henry IV, Frederick Barbarossa, and Napoleon I. The hospice, founded by St. Bernard of Menthon, is in the charge of Augustinian friars. The St. Bernard dogs bred by them were formerly used to search for lost travelers. dog Sashu could pull her to school by rope. ``It was a magical dream that came true,'' Medders said. ``It was literally living in a winter wonderland for three weeks.'' Now, as the special events director for the nonprofit Alliance for the Arts, she has helped create a bit of that atmosphere for the winter days in Ventura County. The city Thursday unveiled Winter Wonderland on Ice, the first open-air ice rink in the county. Officials believe that it will attract as many as 12,000 skaters and onlookers during its pilot run through Jan. 3. The 40-foot-by-60-foot rink, adjacent to the Thousand Oaks Civics Arts Plaza, was created to provide a community gathering place and to draw attention to year-round theater programs at the plaza. Josh Thall spent the first 10 years of his life in Peekskill Peekskill, city (1990 pop. 19,536), Westchester co., SE N.Y., on the Hudson River; settled 1665, inc. as a village 1816, as a city 1940. Clothing, leather goods, lighting fixtures, and office equipment are made there. In the American Revolution, Peekskill was attacked and burned (1777) by the British; after the war the city became a prominent trade center. Peter Cooper and Henry Ward Beecher were born there. St., N.Y. But he never skated regularly until his family moved to Thousand Oaks 12 years ago. His new neighbors got him hooked on in-line skate hockey, and that evolved into a love of ice hockey. ``Only in California can you go ice-skating in a T-shirt with no clouds in the sky,'' Thall said. The alliance, which is the fund-raising arm of the plaza, is planning an elaborate skating and singing show from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday. Olympic skater Peter Carruthers will serve as master of ceremonies. Carruthers and his sister, Kitty, won the silver medal for tandem skating in the 1984 Winter Olympics. Tracy Fuhrmann, 15, of Agoura skated on the open-air rink Wednesday night in preparation for her performance in a scene from ``The Nutcracker'' on Sunday. ``It's great to have an (open-air) ice rink in Ventura County because it really brings out the holiday spirit without the holiday cold,'' she said. Organizers hope the five-week run will recoup the $250,000 spent on setting up the rink, stage and bleachers. If the program is successful, it could be a permanent attraction, Medders said. The rink will be open for one-hour sessions from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and until 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Admission for each session is $6 for adults, $3 for children ages, 4 to 12 and free for children 3 and younger. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1-2--Color) Below, Josh Thall of Thousand Oaks helps his cousin Tami Gorodetzer at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza outdoor ice rink Thanksgiving Day. At right, Karley Pauley, 7, slips on the city's Winter Wonderland on Ice 40-foot-by-60-foot rink. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News |
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