Category: Rink
Rink closed during thaw
The Sorauren Park natural ice rink is closed during this thaw and until further notice. Mother Nature is not cooperating.
Thank you for staying off the rink surface. If a cold snap returns, the volunteer Hosers rink crew will attempt to bring the rink back into being. A clear surface helps speed up the process.
Rink open during cold spell
UPDATE JANUARY 21: The rink is open! Come for a skate while we enjoy these cold temperatures. Bring your friends and a thermos of hot chocolate. The park washroom in the Fieldhouse is open.
The volunteer Sorauren Hosers Rink Crew will continue to flood each night at 9 pm as long as temperatures remain below zero. Warmer weather is expected later this week, so enjoy the rink now. Follow @SoraurenPark on Instagram, Facebook and X for more frequent updates.
JANUARY 19: Conditions at the natural ice rink at Sorauren Park are good enough for skating by small kids beginning January 19 (a PA day). The ice still needs more work for faster skating and shinny games, especially on the south pad… stay tuned.
The rink is built and maintained by the hardy volunteers of the Sorauren Hosers Rink Crew, many of whom have volunteered for more than 10 years. They have been working day and night since temperatures dipped consistently below zero about a week ago, a necessary condition for flooding to begin. Thanks Hosers!
Follow @SoraurenPark on Instagram, Facebook or X for updates.
The weather is expected to get warmer next week, and the rink will close during that time… please stay off to preserve the surface. If it gets colder again, the Hosers will work to bring back the rink.
Special thanks to our 2024 Rink Sponsors:
Follow us for Sorauren Rink updates
The all-volunteer Sorauren Hosers Rink Crew have erected the boards for this year’s natural ice rink at Sorauren Park… now it’s a waiting game for the “natural” part. Flooding will being once the forecast calls for a full week of constant below zero temperatures, needed to lay down the base. Fingers crossed.
Follow us on our @SoraurenPark social media sites or subscribe to our popular newsletter for updates on rink opening and activities.
A separate team of Hosers floods every night at 9 pm when weather permits. “Sunrise soak” floods also occur 6 am on weekend mornings when the forecast is favourable (really cold and no snow!). There are still volunteer opportunities to join the on-call “floater” crew that fills in when teams are short, or when there’s a need for extra help. Use our volunteer sign-up form to join a hardy and fun-loving crew. No experience necessary, newcomers are teamed up with experienced captains.
Special thanks to long-time Hoser, Parkdale-High Park MP and now Minister of Justice, Arif Virani, for helping again on the build. Thanks to Parks, Forestry and Recreation for the free permit and access to water and storage.
Super-special thanks to our amazing and generous local businesses who support the rink…
2024 build donations:
- I Deal on the Park – volunteer coffee
- Alimentari – pizza fixings for volunteer lunch
- Toronto Welds – new steel plates to hold the boards together
- Downtown Lumber – new screws and hardware
2024 (returning!) Season Sponsors
- Scooter Girl Toys
- Chander Chaddah, Sutton Group Associates
- Evolve Chiropractic
RC Toy Car Rally April 1 at the park
The Second Annual Radio-Controlled Toy Car Rally zooms into the park on Saturday, April 1 starting at 10 am.
The fun takes place on the course formed by the rink boards on the baseball diamond. While the rink didn’t get much skating action this winter, it will serve one last purpose before the boards come down.
This year there will be different races for different categories, based on car size. Register on-site, participation is free.
The first Rally was held last year and was a ton ‘o fun, with cars of all sizes zipping around the course, over and through obstacles. Volunteer race marshalls registered the participants, rescued stranded cars and kept things moving.
Follow @SoraurenPark on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for updates, or sign up for the park newsletter. Brought to you by Friends of Sorauren Park and Rally volunteers.
The RC Toy Car Rally is sponsored by Scooter Girl Toys. All race participants will be entered into a draw to win a Lite-Hawk Radio-Controlled Rocket. Plus, you can win a Rowdy Radio-Controlled Toy Car by visiting Scooter Girl on Roncesvalles between March 13 – 26, and dropping off a picture or a few words about what your favourite part of going to the park is. Or, you can like a Scooter Girl post on Facebook or Instagram and tag two friends between March 13 – 26 to enter the car draw.
Warm weather challenges rink
The warm weather is a natural ice rink’s worst enemy. Regular flooding by the volunteer Sorauren Hosers Rink Crew has halted while temperatures are above zero. Conditions become even harder as the calendar moves to March, but the Hosers will continue to monitor the forecast in case there is a change for the better.
Watch this space for updates, or follow @SoraurenPark on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for updates.
Rink open… for now
Thanks to Sorauren Hoser heroics and a polar vortex, the natural ice rink at Sorauren Park is now open. Conditions are not perfect, but the ice will welcome some light skating, especially for the little ones.
Join us for a last-minute Sorauren Hosers Happy Hour Skate Party, 4-6 pm today February 4. Bring your skates (or not) to savour what we can from this lemon of a winter.
The rink has been flooded day and night the past few days by volunteers from the Sorauren Park Hosers Rink Crew. Follow @SoraurenPark on social media for conditions and updates… the weather has thrown curve balls this year, and we don’t know how long the ice will last.
Special thanks to our patient Rink Sponsors: Scooter Girl Toys; Chander Chaddah, Sutton Group Associates Brokerage; and Evolve Roncesvalles.
Sorauren Park 