On a summer night in Alaska, there is no shortage of light but Friday Night Lights at the ConocoPhillips Kenai Multi-Purpose Facility is offering something more vibrant than the midnight sun.
Most Friday nights throughout the summer, Red Line Sports will light up the facility’s ice rink with multicolored lights flashing to the music while kids of all ages skate and participate in organized games on the ice.
The weekly event is held from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and costs $3, plus an additional $3 to rent ice skates.
“This is just a way of giving the kids some free time,” Vince Redford, owner of Red Line Sports and organizer of Friday Night Lights, said. “It’s really good when it’s rainy and dark outside, then the colored lights really shine through.”
Even on a warm, sunny Friday night, the ice was filled with children of all ages participating in games like musical chairs and limbo, all in ice skates.
“This is my first time here,” Jireh Aley, 11, said. “But it’s so much fun. You get to skate and the games are awesome.”
Redford organizes a variety of games to play throughout the evening, by putting neon paint on the ice to create different playing fields or by organizing folding chairs in the center of the rink for musical chairs.
Today’s hit music soundtracks the event, with the colored lights flashing to the beat of the songs.
“I like how the lights are shiny and super cool,” Jacob Wait, 11, said. “Usually a ton of our hockey friends come so we can play big games like tag.”
Between the games, there is plenty of time for free skate and socializing on the ice.
“There’s a lot of crazy lights, fun games and friends,” Silas Larsen, 12, said. “My favorite is when we play dodgeball.”
The event will run for most Friday nights throughout the summer, Redford said, but with some scheduling conflicts he suggests checking in with Red Line Sports on Facebook.
Reach Kat Sorensen at kat.sorensen@peninsulaclarion.com.
