By Gerri Miller
Elmore/Autauga News
Each year Kellie Cook and her crew make sure the City of Prattville has a new attraction for people to enjoy during the Christmas season and this year it will be an ice-skating rink and lights that criss cross the downtown streets.
Cook is the director of Parks and Recreation and the staff-proclaimed “Christmas Queen” of Prattville. She said she is beyond excited to bring ice skating to downtown this Christmas season. It is all part of an effort to bring people here to enjoy the Hallmark-movie atmosphere of downtown Prattville.
“The Mayor brought up this idea years ago and at the time I actually laughed at it,” Cook said. “The more time passed, the more of a reality we wanted to make it.”
“Think of very small version of Rockefeller Center at Christmas,” she laughed. The skating rink is already set up near the City Christmas tree by the Gin Shop and the Mill Pond Dam. It will open on December 2nd at 7 p.m. during the City Christmas Tree Lighting. It will stay open until December 30th except for Christmas Eve and Christmas.
Cook said she and her staff did some research and were able to find a rink that fit the City’s budget and size constraints for the first year. “Depending on the success of this year, we may look at different options for next year.”
This year’s rink isn’t really ice, but a synthetic material with a special coating which allows skaters to glide across the surface.
Cook looked at other Alabama cities who have ice skating during Christmas including Andalusia, Oxford and Auburn and shopped for the right price and fit for the city.
Cook said she is completely comfortable with her Christmas Queen moniker and admits that she is “a little obsessed” with Christmas. “I have my whole house decorated early so I can concentrate on the City’s Christmas.” She said her staff will not let her play Christmas music in the office until after November 1st.
“I love Christmas more than most people and I love coming up with themes, ideas and decorations,” she said. “I started with the City in 2008 and have enjoyed seeing how much we have grown and changed each year.”
Cook and a crew of 15-20 people start decorating the City for Christmas in early November and it takes an entire month to get everything set up. “I start the planning and logistics right after the Fourth of July to make sure we have enough time to get everything ordered/made and a design layout created.
“We start decorating as soon as Halloween is over and we break down everything from the Parade of Pumpkins,” she said.
It takes a team effort of employees from Parks and Recreation, Urban Management and Engineering to get everything done.
Cook said she is fortunate to have support from Mayor Bill Gillespie and the City. “The Mayor loves Christmas. Maybe he doesn’t love it as much as I do, but he sees the benefit of having everything decorated,” she said. “It turns Prattville into a tourist attraction. The merchants see the benefit and the restaurants get additional foot traffic.”
She said the goal of the Christmas efforts is to not only help businesses, but also help families create traditions that everyone can get excited about.
The cost for ice skating will be $5 and this includes skate rental. This includes a 30-minute skate session. Only 25 people are allowed on the ice at one time. No private bookings can be made this year. Skating tickets will be sold first come, first-served for each time slot.
The earliest tickets will be sold will be 30 minutes before the rink opens. On a busy day, you might purchase a skating ticket for a session that doesn’t begin for an hour or more after purchase. If this happens, Cook suggests that you enjoy the downtown area shopping and restaurants, check out the lights and decorations all around, and stop by the concessions tent to enjoy hot cocoa and cookies on the Creekwalk. Be sure to come back to the rink ten minutes before your skate time.
You can purchase hot chocolate, water, cookies, and popcorn at the rink, but no food is permitted on the “ice.” For additional food options, explore Downtown Prattville and its restaurants and coffee shops.
A long-sleeved “Christmas in Prattville 2021” T-shirt can be purchased at a table near the skating rink. The cost is $15 for children and $20 for adults. The design is a snow globe that includes the City’s 30-foot Christmas tree, the gin shop property and the ice-skating rink.
Children ages five and older are permitted on the ice, but skaters under seven years old will need an adult to skate with them. You may not carry children or anyone else on the “ice.” If you are under the age of 18, you will need a parent or legal guardian to complete your skating waiver.
Days and hours for skating are:
Monday-Thursday- 5 p.m. – 9.m.
Friday- 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Saturday 1 p.m. – 9 p.m.
For more information, call 334-595-0850.
