Students skate away winter blues, eat s’mores at Winter Wonderland

Just when you thought that it was time to break out your flip-flops, cold winter temperatures… Just when you thought that it was time to break out your flip-flops, cold winter temperatures returned to Pittsburgh. While this may be sad for some, it nicely complemented the Winter Wonderland celebration hosted by the Pitt Program Council.

A constant flow of students attended the three-day-long event, taking advantage of the small ice-skating rink constructed on the lawn of the William Pitt Union, snacking on home made s’mores and sipping on hot chocolate.

Approximately 75 people had visited the rink within the first hour on Friday, according to Tom Misuraca, adviser to the Pitt Program Council and events specialist.

When sophomore Dorina Pena saw the extensive work that went into setting up the ice rink, she decided that she needed to attend. So Pena and her friend Erin Baumann donned ice skates for an evening of skating and s’mores-making.

“I think this is really cool because it’s not common,” said Baumann, who has taken five years off from skating. “I can’t find the time to get Downtown.”

“Plus it’s expensive,” Pena added, referring to the cost of admission and rentals at other rinks. Admission to the Winter Wonderland celebration was of no cost to Pitt students.

The idea for the event, a first for Pitt, sprung from a rather unlikely source.

“I was flipping through a magazine and saw an ice-skating rink made out of cellophane,” said Jessica Bercholc, special events director for Pitt Program Council. “I thought it would be cool to have a real one, so I went to Tom [Misuraca] with the idea, and he said ‘I’ve got a guy.'”

Misuraca was on hand to clarify.

“Jess came and asked about the idea,” he said. “Pitt Program Council is students planning for students. Her committee liked it, so we started researching.”

The research led them to W. Beitac Productions, the company that was responsible for the ice at the 2002 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies in Salt Lake City.

As with any event, this one also had some setbacks.

“We originally wanted to hold the event in the Quad in January,” Misuraca said. “But there is a parking garage underneath. We had an engineering firm come in, and they said it would not support the weight.”

Changes were made, and the event was moved to the Union lawn and the rink was shrunk to 40 feet by 60 feet. Since the lawn is not flat, a stage had to be brought in because the ice must be level within the half inch. As a result of all the extra preparations, setup for the event began at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

It will take nearly that long to dismantle the rink as well.

The planning of Winter Wonderland has taken Pitt Program Council almost five months, but according to Bercholc and Misuraca, all the work was worth it.

“How many schools can say they’ve skated on the lawn of their union?” Bercholc asked.

“This is something that a lot of people said we couldn’t do, but yet you see it here in front of you,” Misuraca said.