Ice Skating For Newbies

Theresa Carter, The Local Tourist, NBC Chicago Street Team

Despite growing up in rural Indiana with a pond 200 yards from my front door, the first time I ice skated was when I was 15 and visiting family in Colorado. The second time was shortly after I moved to Chicago and visited the then-new Millennium Park Ice Skating Rink. The third time was Friday.

Every winter I think it’s a shame that I hadn’t gone the year before, and every year come April I realize I’ve missed it again, so when fellow street team-er & Mix DJ Cara Carriveau invited me to go skating with her I just had to accept.

Amazingly we escaped bruise-free, and here’s how you can enjoy one of Chicago’s fun winter activities with bum – and ego – intact.

1. Get on the ice shortly before they’re going to resurface it. It’ll be all bumpy and craggy and you can’t do much more than shuffle along.
2. Sit down and congratulate yourselves on circling the rink a couple of times without a) falling down and b) tripping one of those show-off skaters that’s at least 20 years younger.
3. Watch the Olympia (not a Zamboni, I learned) bring the ice to a shiny, glass-smooth surface.
4. Watch while those show-off skaters who are 20 years younger scuff up the ice enough that you don’t step on it and slide all the way to Michigan Avenue.
5. Step back out into the rink and glide atop the smooth-but-not-slick surface until you can almost do a roller-rink style crossover at the turns.
6. Quit while you’re ahead.

When Theresa isn’t keeping her bum and ego bruise-free, she’s writing about all the fun things to do in Chicago on The Local Tourist.

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Keep Santa in your heart all year!

JenChicago, NBC5 Street Team

Much to my delight and surprise, I found myself to be the current “Featured NBC Chicago Street Teamer”! After such an exciting, bustling and fantastic Chicago Holiday season, I feel as though the gifts just keep on coming!

I also realized that in the midst of all the excitement, there were TWO holiday videos that I never actually posted on this site. I know, I know… and I’m sorry. Please forgive Santa.

Due to the “Santa-Clause-y” nature of the videos, I wondered if the time had passed and it was too late to post… BUT THEN I thought, “What would Santa do?”

So, “bada-bing, bada-boom”… here you go. Please enjoy Santa dancing at the Go Green event and ice skating in Millennium Park.

Find more fun and silly videos at JenChicago.com!

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Ice Skating With Zombies

Janelle Rominski, NBC Chicago Street Team

I joined other Chicagoland zombie enthusiasts on Sunday for the first annual “Zombies On Ice” event at the Millennium Park ice rink.

The host of this event, Kitty Zombie, partnered with ChicagoZombie.com and was hoping to break a world record for the most zombies ice skating at one time.

The record was not broken, but there were over 150 zombies from near and far who participated in the event.

There were zombies who live in Chicago and some who traveled from Winnetka, Lockport and even Kenosha, Wisconsin.

You’re never too old or too young to be a zombie either. We had zombies in their 40′s, 30′s, 20′s, teens, an 8-year-old and even two little 6-year-old zombie girls.

As a Halloween and horror fanatic, I jumped at the chance to join other like-minded Chicago-area people to become a zombie on ice and to possibly take part in a new world record.

This event was a great experience. “Zombies On Ice” was much more than just ice skating in makeup and gnarly clothes. It turned out to be a day full of fun, excitement and camaraderie.

To check out photos of the event, click HERE.

Want more Rominski reads? Read more right HERE!

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Ice Skating & I Do in Millennium Park

Blagica Stefanovski, NBC5 Street Team (Video)

There’s something about an ice skating rink in the middle of the city. There’s also something about falling on that same ice when the love of your life asks for your hand in marriage.

Michael and I love eating at the Park Grill, Millennium Park. We even have a favorite table, which provides a phenomenal vantage point of the restaurant and rink. The plan was to skate, take in the city lights and enjoy dinner. Seemed simple enough, right?

I haven’t been on ice skates in years. I wasn’t paying attention to much around me – aside from the way my left foot kept rotating inward with every step. After years of running track in high school, it seems like my ankles became weaker (Dr. Oz, do you make house calls?). I figured Michael skating behind me to make sure I kept my balance and didn’t pull a cartoon banana slip move. He mentioned that his skate needed tying and I thought, ‘Awesome, my ankles need a breather.’ We stopped at the end of the rink, I took a city picture with my digital camera and BAM, Michael looked up at me and asked me to marry him. I was in shock and literally fell to the ground when I realized what was going on. After tears and kisses, I turned around to see the camera posse – Michael had his brother and good friend hiding in the Michigan Avenue shrubbery with cameras. The entire episode was captured on film. More tears gushed. This shot was taken as I turned around to see our paparazzi.

If you are a fan of ‘The Cosby Show’, you know that Dr. Huxtable loved to NOT be surprised. I felt like I was Dr. Huxtable and the whole world was in on the news, but I reveled in not knowing the details. After our Park Grill (the goat cheese ravioli was delish) dinner, another zinger was waiting for me. We strolled over to the Elephant & Castle on Wabash for what I thought were drinks with the Camera Mafia, but turned out to be the Camera Mafia along with our closest friends. Yes, you guessed it. More tears.

In 1995, I was a Western Michigan University college sophomore visiting Chicago for the first time. I strolled up Michigan Avenue and made a wish. I wished to move to the Windy City after college, enjoy whatever job I had and meet the man I’d share the rest of my life with. To be in the center of Chicago, on a crisp March night, with my other half asking me to be his partner in crime is something I’ll never forget.

Frankie was right. Chicago is my kinda town.

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