Lace Up Your Skates Friday In West Hartford To Fight Vaping

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A benefit skating event Friday at the town's ice rink will not only raise funds for two good local causes, it will continue a campaign against the teen scourge of vaping.

The Bridge Family Center — which operates the West Hartford Teen Center in the Elmwood Community Center, 1106 New Britain Ave., West Hartford — is hosting a skating night fundraiser Friday, July 27, at the town's skating rink.

The event will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Ice Rink, 56 Buena Vista Road, West Hartford. The inclement weather date is Friday, Feb. 2.

In addition to regular skating, the fundraiser will include live music from "School of Rock;" a bake sale; raffles; cotton candy and popcorn; and free giveaways.

The theme of the event is "The Best Of Me Is Vape Free," and, amid all of the festivities, information regarding the addiction of vaped nicotine, which for years has replaced smoking tobacco among teens, will be handed out.

In addition, the West Hartford Prevention Partnership will have all sorts of goodies and trinkets promoting healthy causes to give away.

The first 150 attendees who bring in a flyer printout for the event will get in free, otherwise, regular event admission fees ($10) plus any skate rentals ($4) apply.

Two local nonprofits will benefit from event proceeds. They are:

• The Bridge Family Center's West Hartford Teen Center, an organization that provides positive recreation avenues for local teens, as well as access to behavioral health counseling services.

• The Friends of Feeney, a West Hartford nonprofit that helps children and families who have experience tragedies in their lives, such as the sudden loss of a parent.

For more information, call Jon Merritt, youth services manager and teen center director, at 860-305-2792.

For more information on the Veterans Memorial Ice Rink in West Hartford, click on this link.

For more information on the Bridge Family Center's West Hartford Teen Center, click on this link.

For more information on The Friends of Feeney organization, click on this link.