Click photo to enlarge
Dan Hickey, left, and Chris Geatrakas, right, the owner of Davis Mechanical Services, get the outdoor Holiday Ice Rink ready in Pleasanton, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Both are from of East Syracuse, N.Y. The 60-by-100-foot ice rink, a partnership between the City of Pleasanton and the San Jose Sharks, is scheduled to open on Nov. 19 and have skating sessions available through Jan.10, 2010. All net proceeds from the operations of the Holiday Ice Rink will be donated to Pleasanton education, sports and recreational activities. (Doug Duran/Staff)
Related

Miniature winter wonderlands, one complete with a horse-drawn carriage, are coming to the Tri-Valley area. Two outdoor holiday ice skating rinks are scheduled to open Thursday, one in downtown Pleasanton and the other at Dublin Toyota.

Both rinks will operate daily through Jan. 10.

For the past four years, residents wanting to enjoy an outdoor holiday ice rink had to either head south to San Jose or north to Walnut Creek.

After two years of talks, Sharks Ice and the city of Pleasanton will debut a 14,000-square-foot ice rink in the parking lot of the Pleasanton library, at 400 Old Bernal Avenue. The Pleasanton Downtown Business Association will offer free horse-drawn carriage rides from the rink to Main

Snow section
Community Photos
Street on Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 12. The ice rink, sponsored by Devcon Construction, will open to the public at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

A few miles away, California Ice Adventures is teaming with Dublin Toyota to open a 7,200-square-foot rink on the grounds of the auto dealership's new location, at 4808 Dublin Blvd.

Sharks Ice, a branch of the San Jose Sharks parent company San Jose Arena Management, and the city have a schedule of grand opening events that will start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and include a performance by the Golden State Synchronized Skating Teams.

Ticket prices for the Pleasanton rink are $14 for residents 12 and up and nonresident kids; $16 for nonresidents 2 and up. Kids who live in Pleasanton are

Advertisement
$12. Seniors are $10. Prices are good for a two-hour session and include skate rental.

Dublin ticket prices are $15 for adults with skate rental and $12 without skate rental. Kids are $10 with skate rental and $7 without.

For more information, including hours on both ice rinks, visit www.dublinholidayonice.com for the Dublin rink and www.sharkswinterrinkatpleasanton.com for the Pleasanton rink.

Robert Jordan covers Dublin and Pleasanton, reach him at 925-847-2184.