New Ice Rink Met With Enthusiastic Response From New Canaan Community

NEW CANAAN, CT — After a long journey to completion, the Boucher Community Ice Rink opened in Waveny Park just before the start of 2023 and has already been with enthusiasm by New Canaan residents and visitors, according to local officials.

Rita Bettino, a board member of the non-profit NC Rink Inc. group, said she and her fellow board members were overjoyed by the community's response to the new ice rink.

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan also noted he has stopped by the rink several times since its opening and residents seemed thrilled with the new facility in the center of the park, opposite Waveny House.

"We appreciate the effort and dedication that the volunteers behind [NC Rink Inc.] have shown in bringing the rink to fruition over the last two years," Moynihan said in an email to Patch.

The rink, named after donor and former State Sen. Toni Boucher's late husband, Bud, is open to the public and not restricted to New Canaan residents, according to Bettino. Visitors must bring their own skates.

Daily and season passes are sold at the rink. Lessons and reserving the ice for private events is also available.

The rink includes a heated hospitality tent and a Zamboni-style ice resurfacer machine, according to the town's Facebook page. Future plans also include a skate rental and sharpening shop, as well as programs such as "dads and daughters" and "teen" nights.

According to Bettino, the NC Rink group was originally formed in the early 2000's with 10 members who, at that time, were working toward a goal of building an indoor ice rink in town.

After years of setbacks, the idea was resurrected in 2018 by the group's president, Gene Goodman, along with the help of local landscape architect Keith Simpson.

"They reached out to [the group's treasurer] Tom O'Dea, who led the earlier indoor rink effort," Bettino said in an email, "and together they got to work on a more flexible concept: a seasonal ice rink that can be dismantled when winter is over."

The group then attracted more enthusiastic volunteers, including board members Bettino, Kerra Smith and Sarah Arestia, to help make the rink a reality.

"Since then, we've attracted even more volunteers to help, enlisted the expertise of Tony Lantier of the Thin Ice Management company to help us erect and operate the rink and hired excellent local staff to work the rink," Bettino said. "It has been a tremendous group effort in which everyone brought their unique talents to bear to bring an ice rink to New Canaan."

The group also received support from public and private sources, including the town of New Canaan, the state, local community foundations, the group's "ice angel" donors and local business sponsors, Bettino said.

"It has been a community effort and a resounding success," Bettino said. "A truly Norman Rockwell-type experience that people of all ages can enjoy."

More information about the rink is available at ncrink.com.