WICKER PARK — Those interested in an ice rink in the neighborhood need to now come up with some cold cash.
Volunteers eager to bring "WickerICE," a community-funded ice skating rink to the neighborhood's namesake park, this winter have already gotten the green light from the Chicago Park District and a local alderman.
As of Thursday, about $8,453 has been raised toward a $60,000 goal, according to Doug Wood, secretary of the Wicker Park Advisory Council and coordinator of the newly-formed Wicker-ICE Committee.
The majority of the amount raised so far has come from ad sales for the Midnight Circus in the Park booklet, which gives advertising sale profits to the park, Wood said.
Another eight people chipped in $443 via an online crowd-sourcing campaign. To contribute, visit the rink's GoFundMe campaign, or the Wicker Park Advisory Council website, where tax-deductible donations can be made to the group's PayPal.
Wood said he is also working with the Special Service Area Taxpayer District No. 33, which has verbally committed "up to $5,000" to put toward the rink.
"We are optimistic that it can all come together but if we don't get all the funding we won't do it and [the money raised] will roll over to next year," Wood said, adding that the month of September is "key" for making the rink a reality.
A public meeting to discuss the rink is set for 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday in the park field house, 1425 N. Damen Ave. According to an agenda, the gathering will tackle design, rink installation and maintenance, volunteer recruitment and fundraising efforts, including events.
The approximately 185-foot-long by 85-foot-wide non-refrigerated rink would be open for recreational skating and hockey — weather permitting — from late November through early March in Wicker Park, 1425 N. Damen Ave.
Outside of a smattering of private ice rinks, currently there are just eight outdoor rinks in Chicago Park District parks.
Just south of the CTA Blue Line Damen stop and a few blocks from Bucktown's Churchill Park, an entry point to the elevated Bloomingdale Trail, the park offers a softball field, basketball courts, playground and a dog area.
Over the summer, about 900 people responded to an online survey to gage their interest in being part of the project, with 200 of those folks offering to donate money or help to raise money. Another 69 offered to assist with rink maintenance, Wood said.
Designed by Culliton Quinn Landscape Architecture, the rink would be enclosed by four walls, with three of those walls made of 3.5-foot tall boards. A fourth wall would be 2-feet tall.
The rink would be filled by volunteers using a water hydrant on Schiller Street, according to detailed plans and cost estimates.
Brian Culliton, the Wicker ICE's committee's co-chairman and co-designer, told Our Urban Times that the weather might only give skaters 30 days of "skate-able" ice.
"The rewards of having only a handful of skating days, I believe, outweigh the hard work and commitment needed from the neighborhood," Culliton said.
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