New Canaan’s picture-perfect outdoor rink in Waveny Park
Norman Rockwell paintings evoke a sense of nostalgia in people—whether they bring back memories from your own childhood or stir a desire to experience life before technology took over. This is the feeling Rita Bettino got when she first heard about plans for a community ice rink in New Canaan.
“I remember the excitement when they put up the sign by the pond that said skating was open,” Bettino recalls of growing up in Valhalla, New York. So when she heard that long-time New Canaan resident Gene Goodman was heading up a project to bring a community rink to town, she pictured a Rockwell scene, with families drinking hot cocoa and skating under twinkling lights. She raised her hand to help and, it turned out, Goodman would need all the help he could get!
Goodman has lived in New Canaan since 1979. He and his wife Susan raised five children in town. He served on the Board of Ed for 16 years and the Parks & Recreation committee for seven years. It was at a Parks & Rec meeting back in 2017 that someone suggested an outdoor ice rink. Goodman’s support for the idea turned into a six-year passion project.
Other volunteers stepped up to make this dream a reality, namely State Representative Tom O’Dea (treasurer), Bettino (secretary), and Scott Roe (project manager). “There are all sorts of challenges to an open-air rink,” Bettino says. But this team of volunteers, along with rink directors Kerra Smith and Sarah Arestia, got to work finding solutions. The first year, the rink didn’t open. The second year, it opened later than anticipated. But trial and error allowed the team to iron out the kinks and this year they expect to be open by press time—if Mother Nature cooperates, of course!
The official name of the rink is the “Boucher Community Ice Rink,” thanks to a generous donation by former State Senator Toni Boucher, in honor of her husband. That word “community” is woven into the fabric of this project.
“I love that this rink gets kids out of the house and out into the community,” Bettino says.
Goodman agrees: “There are not many community activities where you will see the parents out there participating along with the kids.”
In addition to providing family fun for residents from both New Canaan and the surrounding area, the team also felt that making it easily accessible was an important part of a “community” rink. Last year they organized a skate swap but this year they plan to have rentals available for kids up to around age 12. They will also be adding group and private lessons. “We are always trying to find ways to make it as easy as possible for people to come,” says Bettino. Local families have mirrored that sentiment, anonymously donating season passes to others in financial need.
Season passes are available online and in-person. You can also purchase a wristband on-site that will give you access to the rink for the entire day. “Unlike many indoor rinks, there is no set Open Skate hour here,” Goodman notes. “We want people to come and stay for a while.” In addition to season/day passes, there are special group discounts and even birthday party options. But hot cocoa, as you might imagine in this Rockwell painting come to life, is free for all visitors!