Follow us on social media:
Watch as families try to skate on the ice rink in Yoctangee Park
The ice rink is open on weekends this month in the park thanks to the Mighty Children’s Museum.
With the excitement of the holiday season over, it may seem like the best way to wait out the cold New England winter is staying indoors.
However, if you can work up the courage to face the cold, Rhode Island has plenty of attractions that can brighten up the gloomiest winter day, including ice skating. Whether indoor or outdoor, plenty of ice rinks can be found throughout the state, many of which offer more than ice skating.
Here are five rinks in Rhode Island to skate at this winter.
Located in the heart of downtown Providence is BankNewport City Center’s Providence Rink, an outdoor winter sports venue that offers both ice skating and ice bumper cars against a backdrop of the city skyline. The rink was recently renovated.
Tickets cost $13 for shared bumper cars, $16 for full bumper cars, $9 for adult skating and $6 for child skating. Skate rentals and season passes are also available.
When: Ice skating is open daily from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. through early March.
Where: 2 Kennedy Plaza, Providence
Warwick’s Thayer and Warburton ice arenas offer year-round indoor ice skating for competitive, recreational, resident and non-resident skaters. Along with public skating hours, this venue offers adult-only skate time, private group rentals and skating lessons.
Skating costs $5 per person, and skates can be rented from the Sandy Lane Sports store across the street.
When: From January through March, public skate hours are 3:15-5:15 p.m. on Fridays and 12:50-2:30 p.m. on Sundays, and adult skate hours are 8-11:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Where: 975 Sandy Ln., Warwick
This outdoor rink offers 12,000 sq. ft. of real ice to skate on, with options including free skate, skating lessons, hockey and Rock N Skate, a fun-filled event with skating and music, every Saturday night. Food concessions are also available outside the rink.
The price to skate at the Washington Trust Community Skating Center is $10 for adults or $7 for both children 13 or under and seniors 60 or over. Guests can rent skates for $7 and get the blades sharpened for $5.
When: Westerly’s community ice rink is open for public skating from 3-4:50 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10-11:50 a.m. and 3-6:50 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m.-5:50 p.m. on Saturdays and 1-4:50 p.m. on Sundays. A full schedule of all events can be found on the town of Westerly’s website.
Where: 61 Main St., Westerly
The Cranston Veterans Memorial Ice Rink has not one, but two NHL regulation size rinks, where skaters can enjoy public skating, public hockey, skating with stick and puck or skating lessons.
Outside the rink, this venue has a Pro Shop, arcade games and a concession stand, stocked with snacks like pizza, popcorn and slushies.
Skating costs $10 for adults or $5 for children and senior citizens, and skate rentals are available for $10. The Cranston rink only accepts cash.
When: Public skating is open daily from 12:10-2 p.m.
Where: 900 Phenix Ave., Cranston
Along with hosting various sports groups and teams, Smithfield’s indoor ice rink offers both public skating and public hockey.
Tickets to skate, which can only be bought in person with cash, cost $5 per person, and skate rentals cost an additional $5.
When: Smithfield’s public skating hours are 12-1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.
Where: 109 Pleasant View Ave., Greenville
WEST WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — A police situation at a West Warwick hotel briefly closed part of I-95 South on Saturday afternoon.
Dozens of officers responded to the SpringHill Suites by Marriott off Route 2 around 3 p.m. Police cruisers blocked a nearby exit ramp, causing the closure.
According to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, travel lanes on I-95 South at Exit 24A were blocked for about 45 minutes before reopening.
Our 12 News crew on the scene reports that most of the police presence, including SWAT, cleared the area just after 4 p.m.
An ambulance was later seen leaving, and a car was towed from the back of the hotel. It’s unclear if anyone was taken into custody or where the investigation stands.
12 News has reached out to police for more information and will bring you updates both online and on WPRI-12.
Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts.
Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the free WPRI 12+ TV app.
Follow us on social media:
A stray cat that bit a person in Burrillville, Rhode Island, tested positive for rabies, health officials said Saturday.
The person received post-exposure treatment meant to prevent them from contracting rabies, which is fatal once a person begins showing symptoms, according to the Rhode Island Department of Health.
The person was bitten on Wednesday, and the cat was found under a home’s deck on Whippel Road.
Anyone who came into contact with the cat was urged to call the department’s Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology (at 401-222-2577 on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or 401-276-8046 at other times) so they can be assessed in case they need treatment.
Cats, dogs and pets being kept as pets are required to be vaccinated against rabies in Rhode Island, but anyone who thinks their pet may have come in contact with the stray cat was urged to contact the Department of Public Health, local animal control and the animal’s veterinarian.
A Rhode Island teenager who was out on bail for a gun charge was charged Friday in connection with the stabbing of three people as hundreds of teens crowded the beach
Willy Medina, 18, was identified as a suspect in the stabbing that broke out at Narragansett Town Beach just after 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Narragansett Police Department.
Medina is accused of slashing three beachgoers as the rowdy crowd went into a frenzy, according to video obtained by WJAR.
The three victims were hospitalized with minor stab wounds.
The Rhode Island State Police Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested Medina in his hometown of Pawtucket and charged him on one count of felony assault, Chief Kyle Rekas said.
Medina was arraigned Friday in the 4th District Court and held on a bail violator. He was also ordered to have no contact with minors, WPRI reported.
Officials did not release a motive in the stabbing, as the investigation is ongoing.
Medina was out on bail at the time for a shooting in Pawtucket back in April.
Police allege Medina and another 18-year-old were part of a larger crowd when a disturbance broke out and a gunshot was fired off, striking a parked car, according to WJAR.
Medina was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, firing in a compact area, vandalism and disorderly conduct.
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s stabbings, Narragansett Police arrested two men in the public beach’s parking lot on charges of simple assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.
Hours before the stabbing, 20 miles away in Middletown, RI, approximately 1,200 teens overran Second Beach on the Sachuest Bay, the Middletown police said.
Several people between the ages of 17 and 19 were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer.
Ronan Pinkham, an 18-year-old from Massachusetts, was arrested after he allegedly struck a Newport police officer with his car in the parking lot as he attempted to flee.
Pinkman admitted to driving under the influence before he was arrested and charged with felony assault and DUI.
Illegal teen takeovers have plagued popular shopping centers and beaches in several states in the weeks leading up to Memorial Day Weekend.
Several hundred teens and young adults illegally took over a popular boardwalk in Long Branch, New Jersey, on Tuesday, leading to several arrests of out-of-towners.
Police in Delaware arrested four Delaware State University students for leading a booze-fueled takeover of Rehoboth Beach that prompted a heavy police presence in the popular Atlantic town.
Xander Nicholl, 19, Angelin Clauvil, 21, Eric Barnett, 21, and 22-year-old Keyon Scott are all facing charges relating to facilitating a riot, as well as conspiracy in the second degree.
As Easy as Riding a Bike? Adult Learners Give It a Try.
A strong El Niño is coming to California. You may notice something different at the beach
Detroit teen charged, will be tried as adult in downtown shooting
People We Meet: For Arieann Harrison, eco-activism is in her DNA
Keeping up with the Thakkars, the embattled Dallas developer family
Overnight car burglary, chase under investigation in Pinecrest, police say
Medford couple celebrating 70th anniversary
Warm temperatures, spotty showers expected through Monday