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Popular Market Square Ice Rink Set Attendance Record in 2023; On Pace to Set New Record This Year

Last year, a record number of people - 19,304 - laced up their skates and did laps on the Knoxville’s Holidays on Ice open-air skating rink on Market Square.

The rink is in its 17th year of operation - and it could set a new attendance record this year.

"Last year around this same time, our attendance numbers were close to 3,000," Ice Rink Manager Robyn Wilson said earlier this week. "We have had a few record-breaking days, putting our attendance over 4,000. We are thrilled to already have 1,000 more skaters so far this year."

Could Market Square ice rink break its 2023 attendance record of 19,000 skaters?

Today and Saturday, the rink is open until 10 p.m. - and the weather is almost perfect for skating: Clear skies, highs above 50 degrees, Christmas-y lows in the 30s and 40s.

For details about Knoxville's Holidays on Ice, visit www.KnoxvilleTN.gov/Christmas or www.facebook.com/KnoxvillesHolidaysonIce.

For many families, a skating outing is part of their holiday tradition: Share a meal at a downtown favorite restaurant, hit the stores for special and unique gifts, and wrap it up with some time on the ice.

There are theme nights, too. On Tuesdays, the rink hosts "Decade Night," with a DJ and music from a specific decade. On Dec. 17, skate to the music of the 1990s. Then on Christmas Eve, it will be the best Christmas hits from all decades - followed by classic hits on New Year's Eve.

On Wednesdays, it's "Popular Artist Night." So far this year, Knoxville's Holidays on Ice has featured a Morgan Wallen night and a Taylor Swift night. ABBA Night is next on Dec. 18.

These enthusiastic skaters are pretty good!

These enthusiastic skaters are pretty good!

Extended hours for skating will start on Dec. 23. On most Mondays through Thursdays after the 23rd, the rink opens at 1 p.m. Visit the Knoxville's Holidays on Ice Facebook page for special hours around the Christmas and New Year's holidays and to check for any closures due to inclement weather.

"The ice rink brings many guests that are visiting downtown and Market Square for the first time," Wilson said. "Seventy-five percent of families visiting to skate likely would not come downtown otherwise. We also have lots of out-of-town guests who tell us how great this experience was."

- Written by Will Ohlig, a University of Tennessee College of Communications senior who is interning with the City Communications Department this semester

Posted by evreeland On 13 December, 2024 at 12:30 PM