Skate and shake in Uptown
Despite the cold, dozens gathered at Waterloo Public Square on Friday evening for the Shake-n-Skate event, hosted by kdub.ca.
Featuring the musical talents of DJ Ampz and Eric Hoshooley, people of all ages were able to skate to the latest beats and enjoy the first snowfall K-W’s seen in weeks.
“There’s always something for everybody,” Chrissy Letson, one of the organizers of the event, said.
Letson’s fiancée started the event a couple years ago and after they got together, they both decided to keep doing it. “It’s a fun, free, family-friendly event.”
Arielle Dalley and Alex Pearce, both university students, agree. “It’s a nice way to spend an evening, for sure,” Pearce said, as she explained that her and her friends had saw the posters around the rink last time they had come to skate.
“Yeah, it’s pretty good. It’s more interesting than skating around at night,” said Dalley.
Those who chose to attend the event were offered flashing accessories to skate around with and there were colourful lights that lit up the outside of the rink.
The square quickly filled up as kids, teenagers, parents and grandparents all made their way to the sidelines to tie up their skates.
Everyone was bundled up and stayed warm by skating around the rink and getting their groove on as they sang along or danced to some familiar music.
The diversity of age was no problem, as both the young and the old enjoyed whatever was blasting from the speakers.
“The community aspect, [it is] nice to be outside and everyone is having a good time,” said Ryan Marek, when asked what he liked most about the event.
Having driven by a couple Fridays ago and witnessed the Shake-n-Skate that was occurring then, Marek and his fiancée found out more information online and decided to come for the evening with some friends and family.
This is the third night for the Shake-n-Skate, having hosted two others earlier in January.
The final Shake-n-Skate is this Friday, Feb. 17 and the event runs from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m., featuring music from Mason Bach and Amber Long.
For more information about Shake-n-Skate and other events, visit kdub.ca.
