Martinsville’s holiday season will include a new winter attraction — a 2,300-square-foot ice skating rink on Depot Street.
A $200,000 grant from The Harvest Foundation will fund equipment, staffing, marketing and programming, so the rink doesn’t require any city funding. (Disclosure: The Harvest Foundation is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.)
The city council is scheduled to consider the receipt and expense of grant funds at its Tuesday meeting.
The city will close Depot Street while the rink is in operation, said Kendall Davis, the city’s communications and community engagement director. The rink, which will accommodate up to to 75 skaters, will take up the parking spots in front of the gazebo and about half of the street.
Food trucks and other vendors will be on the grass, said DeWitt House, the vice president of community investments at The Harvest Foundation. There will also be events every weekend, Davis said. House and Davis both said they are hoping the ice skating rink will be an annual event, if it goes well this year.
The rink will open on Dec. 4 during the Christmas tree lighting event at the Heritage Museum. The rink will then be open Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturdays 1 to 9 p.m. and Sundays 2 to 6 p.m. The city is also considering opening the rink on Thursdays once schools are on winter break, especially on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, Davis said.
Admission is $3 for children 12 and under and $5 for adults, which includes skate rentals. The money will go to the city and be used to offset the cost for next year.
At a similar temporary ice skating rink at Elmwood Park in Roanoke, admission is $6 plus a $2 skate rental fee, according to its website.
“That can really put a hamper on folks’ abilities to be able to enjoy some festivities for the holidays,” Davis said. “Having to drive an hour somewhere and then spend money on food, spend money on the skate rentals.”
The idea originated in 2024, Davis said. That’s when he said he first spoke with city staff and council about bringing a rink to the city.
“The issue really came down to funding,” Davis said. “At that point, we’re not really looking to spend any additional money on events because of … how the financial situation shook out and where we are with community trust and transparency right now.”
With the grant funding, the city started looking at potential locations. The city chose Depot Street, Davis said, because of its proximity to economic development projects such as 51 Lester, which is an abandoned tobacco plant that’s being revived into apartments. The Lester Group is also redeveloping a nearby warehouse into apartments and a restaurant.
“Just bringing awareness to that area can increase foot traffic and I think really just provide an economic development spark for what’s being done in that area already,” Davis said.
Originally, the city brought out a potential ice skating rink vendor to grade the lot that is across the street from the gazebo, Davis said. They found the grade wasn’t suitable and moved to the street itself.
The request for bids on the project closes as of Monday, Davis said. The city will then choose a company in the next week, so the rink can be operational by Dec. 4, he said.
