FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Feb. 14, 2020) -- It was a winter wonderland on Feb. 13, as Fort Drum community members gathered for games, food and ice skating during the Winter Blast at Remington Park.
Hosted by Fort Drum Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, this was the first chance some families had to skate on the new outdoor recreational ice rink near Lloyd's Landing Lodge.
Olivia Becker, 5, stayed on the ice long after her family decided to warm up inside the lodge with some hot soup and sandwiches. It was too much fun to leave, she said.
"I've skated before, but not here," Olivia said. "I want to be an ice skater when I grow up. Or a dolphin trainer."
Her skating companion, Nora Goble, 8, said that it was her first time skating on the new rink but she had been here last summer to swim at Remington Beach.
Jennifer Berry, FMWR Marketing special events coordinator, said that Winter Blast was organized to get people active and familiar with fun, seasonal opportunities.
"The rink is brand new and people are enjoying it, but we wanted to make sure everyone in the community knows about this and all the other things they can do this winter," she said.
Attendees could learn about all of the recreational equipment available to rent through Outdoor Recreation - everything from ski gear and snowshoes to cabin and lodge rentals. With the popular Maple Days event approaching March 21, people also could get a head start by purchasing from a selection of Fort Drum's own maple syrup products.
"Winter Blast is a really a celebration of winter and all that is available in the North Country this time of year," Berry said.
Jasmine Wloch, FMWR Marketing publicity assistant, said that Winter Blast also was a good chance for people to learn about other services and programs that they offer for free to military families.
"We invited representatives from the Fort Drum Family Advocacy Program, the USO and Carthage Area Hospital to be here and talk about how they support our community members," she said.
Winter Blast featured a visit from the hometown professional hockey team, the Watertown Wolves. Jeremy Pominville, goaltender, made a bunch of new friends when he organized a game of ice tag.
"Basically, a lot of us grew up skating on outdoor rinks, so this is pretty nice to be here and skate with the kids," he said. "We're pretty involved in the community, and we always have some activity planned every week. But this is the first time we've gotten to do it here (at Fort Drum). This is fun stuff."
Fort Drum community members can check on the ice skating rink schedule by visiting www.facebook.com/Fort-Drum-Remington-Park-Recreational-Lodging. For information about winter rentals, call Outdoor Recreation at (315) 772-8222 or visit https://drum.armymwr.com/programs/o-recreation.
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