CLEVELAND — Those tired of being cooped up indoors will have an opportunity this winter to play outside during Cleveland Metroparks’ first Winter RiverFest at Rivergate Park and Merwin’s Wharf.
The free holiday event, set along the Cuyahoga River, will run Wednesday through Sunday, Nov. 27 through Jan. 18, 2021. The festival will feature outdoor skating on synthetic ice, a beer garden, fire pits and retail shopping — all lit up for the season.
“We’re really trying to provide an atmosphere along the Cuyahoga River that really highlights the beauty of the city of Cleveland,” said Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman.
Artificial Ice Events is providing the synthetic skating rink and equipment, which doesn’t require freezing temperatures to be operational.
The “ice” is actually sheets of plastic polymer coated with a solution that allows skaters to glide, “closely mimicking the traditional ice skating experience,” according to the company’s website. Metroparks’ staff will be trained to operate the rink.
Skating will be $7 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Ice skates will be available to rent for $3.
Capacity on the rink will be controlled to enable social distancing, so reservations are recommended and can be made on Winter RiverFest website. Walkups will be accepted based on rink availability.
Metroparks hosts an array of themed events for holidays, such as dinner with Santa or the visits with the Easter bunny.
But for the pilot RiverFest, the parks service wanted to do something completely different, Zimmerman said.
In addition to an ice rink, an Igloo Village will be established at Merwin’s Wharf restaurant.
The Metroparks’ restaurant will have limited indoor seating, but RiverFest attendees can book a private igloo to dine outdoors at the Igloo Village, which will have about 10 igloos. Igloo reservations run $50 for a two-hour minimum, plus a food and drink minimum.
Rivergate Park has evolved over the past few years to offer a growing roster of water and paddle sport activities, Zimmerman said.
“We do we plan on continuing to look at opportunities to connect people with Rivergate Park where they’re working on adding paddle tennis in the near future,” he said. “We’ve got the Foundry Rowing Program down there. It’s really a hub of recreational activity. And we’re just adding another component with a skating rink.”
Metroparks has thought about adding ice skating in the parks for some time, Zimmerman said.
“The challenge we’ve had is that consistent weather in Cleveland isn’t all that consistent,” he said. “So, we’ve chosen to go with a sheet of synthetic ice just to basically hedge our bets, making sure that we had the opportunity to be able to put people on the ice during late November, December and January.”
Fat Head’s Brewing and Debonne Vineyards will stock the bar in the beer garden, and several fire pits will provide warmth and glow during RiverFest, he said.
“So there’s again, a unique opportunity to catch up and get warm, and have a glass of your favorite, maybe adult beverage as well as kids’ beverages,” he said.
Depending on what attendees are looking for, RiverFest might swap out activities in the coming years, he said.
“One of the things COVID has taught us is to be adaptable,” Zimmerman said. “And if we find things that the community is looking for at the event, we’ll look to add them in socially distanced, acceptable way, and we’ll continue to, hopefully, grow the event into something that’s consistent in the long term.”
For more information, visit the Cleveland Metroparks website.
RiverFest is sponsored by MTD and supported by Fifth Third Bank, Giant Eagle and Cigna.
