Michigan Avenue Ice Rink Offers Free Admission for Skating, Opens 11/18

Kicking off Chicago's winter season, the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Millennium Park will open on Friday, November 18, 2011 and will remain open through Sunday, March 11, 2012, weather permitting. The rink, now in its eleventh season, draws more than 100,000 skaters annually and is free and open to the public. Skate rental is available for $10. The ice rink is located on Michigan Avenue between Washington and Madison streets.

Regular hours for the season are as follows:
Mondays through Thursdays: 12 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Fridays: 12 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturdays (through Dec.17): 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturdays (beginning Jan. 7): 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Sundays: 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Holiday Hours
Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving): 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday, December 24: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday, December 25: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday, December 31: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Sunday, January 1: 12 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Millennium Park, managed and programmed by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, is an award-winning center for art, music, architecture and landscape design. The ice rink is just one component of the 24.5-acre park, whose other prominent features are the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States; the interactive Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa; the contemporary Lurie Garden designed by the team of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, Piet Oudolf and Robert Israel; and Anish Kapoor's popular Cloud Gate sculpture.

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), in partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, presents thousands of high-quality free festivals, exhibitions, performances and holiday celebrations in venues throughout the city each year. DCASE is dedicated to promoting an ongoing celebration of the arts in Chicago, supporting the people who create and sustain them, and marketing the city's abundant cultural resources to a worldwide audience.

For more information about events in Millennium Park during the winter months, visit www.millenniumpark.org, call 312.742.1168, visit Millennium Park on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @Millennium_Park.