Area residents looking for some winter things to fill the void of the holiday season are in luck as 2026 marks the seventh season for the ice skating rink at Cosgrove Memorial Park in Laporte.

“We started raising money for it the year that we founded the Laporte Enhancement Committee, which was 2018,” explained Gavin Siegfried, chair of the committee.

The original intent of the committee was to open a general store for the community, though its goal soon morphed into creating an attractive environment for both living and doing business.

“The idea is to bring cool, fun events, and people into the area, and have them look around and say, ‘this is a great community. We want to live here. We want to own a business here,” Siegfried said.

The skating rink was created to fill the void left when a local family who maintained a previous one retired as they grew older.

“We went without a rink for probably close to 10 years, so when our organization formed, one of the founding ideas was to get the skate rink reopened,” Siegfried said.

The new rink was constructed in a park named after the Cosgrove family, a member of which was instrumental in the rink’s creation.

“We wouldn’t have been able to raise money or build the rink at all if it wasn’t for Mary Cosgrove when the organization first started,” Siegfried said.

The current rink takes roughly 60 hours to create from building the framework to putting the liner in, and in the interest of safety, an ice thickness of four inches must be maintained at all times.

A challenge that arose this year was when they discovered their then-current liner had a leak in it.

“Since we bought the original liner, we’ve been raising money for a replacement, and we were able to purchase a new liner very quickly. And then our community stepped up and gave money back to the organization to refund the purchase. And we have a sponsorship campaign going on right now,” Siegfried said.

“Our community is extraordinarily generous to our little organization. But it’s because we step up and show them what we’re doing,” he said.

“And, as soon as the Sullivan County Recreation Association heard we were replacing the liner, they called an emergency session and put 50% of the cost forward,” he added.

The rink was also lent a helping hand by the Muncy Valley Fire and Laporte Fire companies, who sent tanker trucks to fill up the rink in two hours, whereas it normally takes about a day and a half to fill.

In fact, the entire construction and operation is completely run by volunteers, including clearing snow from the rink by way of a Zamboni.

In the past two years, the rink has seen a boom in interest from the surrounding community and beyond.

“We’ve had people from as far away as Reading,” Siegfried said.

“We had more than 800 people last year, and since we opened for the 2026 season three weeks ago, we’ve probably had two to 300 people visit the rink this year,” Siegfried said.

On a typical night, the rink is filled with local kids enjoying an hour or two of skating after school.

“We also have a lot of people who grew up skating and don’t want to maintain their ponds or their leaks so they use our rink because it is maintained, Siegfried said.

For newbies or those without equipment of their own, skates are available to rent for free.

“Last year, we raised enough money as an organization to purchase brand new skates. A lot of our skates were donated by community members, but now we even have brand new skates,” Siegfried said.

Those from the committee often hold community skate events.

“We give you hot dogs and hot cocoa. We build a nice big fire for people to warm up next to, and we have skates, all for free, and everybody is welcome,” Siegfried said.

“And it’s definitely a friend building place too. I’ve seen where people came up, learned how to skate together, their kids became friends, and a couple of weeks later, the same two people came out and skated together again,” he added.

Those in attendance give generously to a donation jar displayed during the community events, which Siegfried ties to the fact that entertainment costs have continued to rise.

“They realized that at a movie theater they would have been out $30 per person,” he said.

“We usually make a lot of money from the community skates, because people realize its entertainment for the day for that. And it’s super heartwarming and fun when you have four little old ladies that are just excited to see the kids come out and have a great day,” Siegfried said.

That money goes right back into the committee towards maintaining the rink and other events they hope to put on.

Siegfried also sees the skating rink as a compliment to other area winter events such as the Eagles Mere Toboggan Slide.

“A lot of people know it’s going to be a two or three hours’ wait, a lot of times, they’ll come over to Laporte and ice skate for an hour or two and then go back. So it’s not a competitive thing between us at all. In fact, we tend to help each other. Our numbers went up last year because they had the toboggan slide and they had happier people because there was something else to do five miles away,” he said.

“I have volunteers for my skate rink that aren’t available this coming weekend because they’ll be building the toboggan slide,” Siegfried added.

Siegfried said that the committee is already hard at work solidifying plans for their future events.

“We have a community yard sale Memorial Day weekend. Every year, we do chalk drawing at the Highlands Care Center. around Fourth of July, and every year, we partner with the library and do a story walk in the Macomb Conservancy,” he said.

Also returning this year will be Siegfried’s history tours through Laporte, and the committee plans to again partner with the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce to host a summer time block party.

“We also have a pumpkin party in the fall that we call ‘The Great Pumpkin Roll.’ Kids decorate pumpkins, and then they roll them down the hill, and whichever pumpkin crosses the finish line first, the kid gets a prize,” Siegfried said.

As for the skating rink, Siegfried expects that to remain open from dawn till dusk so long as temperatures remain below freezing.

For more information on the skating rink or any of the committee’s upcoming events, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LaporteEnhancementCommittee.