Ice Skating to Return This Year to Mission Inn Hotel & Spa Festival of Lights
Published: 9/28/2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sept. 28, 2023
Contact:
Phil Pitchford
Public Information Officer
951-826-5975
Ice Skating to Return This Year to Mission Inn Hotel & Spa Festival of Lights
Crowd favorite once on Main Street Mall will now have a home on west side of “The Cheech”
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Ice skating is returning to The Historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa’s 31st Annual Festival of Lights Presented by Kelly & Duane Roberts. An ice skating rink is planned for the west side of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture of the Riverside Art Museum (“The Cheech”).
The ice rink is a family tradition returning after a brief hiatus to provide an opportunity for the community to skate on real ice in an exciting and picturesque outdoor setting. For the first time, skaters will glide across the ice in the shadow of the historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, just across Orange Street from the rink, with millions of holiday lights twinkling in the background.
The rink will open on Nov. 18, the date of this year’s Switch-On Ceremony. The ceremony ignites the holiday season with dazzling lights, holiday-inspired dining, captivating performances, and family-friendly activities. The festivities continue through Dec. 31 with the light displays remaining until Jan. 7. More information can be found here.
The Switch-On Ceremony has been a celebration for over 30 years led by Keepers of the Inn Duane and Kelly Roberts and the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce. The ceremony includes a spectacular fireworks show above the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa followed by a live performance.
Visitors also can enjoy live entertainment from local groups, purchase artisan gifts, patronize the downtown business, and indulge in a sweet treat from a food vendor. Live entertainment and an artisans’ collective will be open Thursday-Sunday, starting Friday, Nov. 24.
The rink, which last was part of the Festival in 2015, was previously on the Main Street Mall between University and Mission Inn avenues. It had to be relocated because of construction in that area at that time.
