Christmas trees are lined up beside the ice skating rink against the backdrop of the St. Augustine Cathedral in downtown Tucson in the photo at the top of this post. In just 4 years ice skating in the Sonoran desert has become a new holiday tradition.
Leaning on blue dolphins
It was early afternoon the day I stopped by the skating rink outside the Convention Center and the ice was not crowded. Mostly groups of friends having fun in the sunshine. As usual, lots of beginning skaters were using those plastic blue Dolphin helpers to make their way around the rink.
Both skaters and non-skaters were there. This young woman’s Scandinavian style sweater seemed apt for the rink. And, new this year, a gingerbread house for photos.
The mural on the outside of the rink’s ticket office was a cute idea: a Gila woodpecker and snow on saguaros.
A much older tradition: Winterhaven Festival of Lights
The Winterhaven Festival of Lights begins December 9th. It’s their 74th year. On your way there you might want to drive by a home at Cherry and Blacklidge where a 20 foot tall inflatable Santa Claus, below, greets the world. Oh, this year there are no drive-through days at Winterhaven. You will have to walk or take a wagon hay ride.
Happy holiday!
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