Photo by Jordan Baumhardt
Riverwest People’s Ice Rink
Riverwest People’s Ice Rink
Riverwest People’s Ice Rink is filled up every winter in the heart of the Riverwest behind Cafe Corazon at the start of the Beerline Trail. Here is where neighborhood folks can come play broomball and pond hockey, skate, grill out and socialize during the cold months. The rink began as a DIY project over a decade ago and has become a community mainstay with a devoted team of locals setting it up year after year.
Christopher Fons is one of the original founders of the Riverwest People’s Ice Rink. “I heard that part of the original Beerline Trail plan was that they were going to put a rink here,” he explains. “When that didn’t happen, I bought it.”
Ever since, he and several friends have facilitated both putting the rink together and organizing winter activities for the community to enjoy. “It’s for anybody who wants to use it,” Fons said.
The rink is assembled via liners, walls and fencing with water then poured over. Once it freezes, Riverwest People’s Ice Rink is ready to go.
Neighborhood Support
Photo by Ben Slowey
Setting up Riverwest People’s Ice Rink
Setting up Riverwest People’s Ice Rink
Local businesses such as Cafe Corazon, Marek Landscaping LLC, Bliffert Lumber & Hardware and the former Fuel Cafe have all pitched in with money and materials needed for the rink. “We’ve had a GoFundMe, the Fendt family helps a lot…there’s been a lot of community investment,” Fons notes. “I’ve heard no negativity about this place.”
All, including kids and families, are welcome to come and play broomball or just free skate. The rink holds a yearly day-long 3 on 3 pond hockey tournament, complete with provided food and beverages for 20 bucks a person. Broomball is on Saturdays. Players are encouraged to bring their own sticks and ice skates. “Usually we use a boot for the goal,” Fons explains. “You just have to hit the boot and you score.”
Bremen Cafe hosted a fundraiser in December 2022 called “Riverwest Gives a Puck!” to buy a storage container for broomball sticks, protective gear, hockey nets and maintenance equipment. “We raised about 800 bucks,” rink organizer Jordan Baumhardt mentions. “Having the locker definitely helps keep things tidy around here.”
The hope is always to set up the rink as early in the season as possible. Unfortunately, weather in recent years has affected the timing. “Last year we only had maybe three weeks of ice,” Fons recalls.
“The ice started cracking when we were playing broomball one weekend,” Baumhardt adds. “We try to delay taking it down as late as we can.”
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Out of the House
The rink is dismantled whenever it gets warm and the ice melts, typically around April. On days in winter when the ice softens, Riverwest People’s Ice Rink is closed.
“If you’re going to live in Wisconsin over the winter, you’ve got to do something to get out of the house,” Baumhardt laughs. “We get people here every week; one time we had like 30 people, and they all wanted to play broomball. There’s a lot of guys I don’t really see throughout the year, but with the rink up I see them every weekend.”
To join the fun, follow Riverwest People’s Ice Rink and Riverwest Street Hockey Club on Instagram (@riverwestpeoplesicerink and @riverweststreethockeyclub, respectively) for updates.
Over the summer, Riverwest Street Hockey Club sets up pickup ball hockey games at the basketball courts on Center Street next to Riverwest Elementary School, as well as yard-style hockey games like Sauce-Off and Slap Hockey at Bremen Cafe. Join their Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/436598250131950.
