More than 30,000 visitors to Lock 3 this winter have enjoyed ice skating, holiday lights, the International Chriskindl Market, rides on the Magical Train, and the Akron History Exhibit and Toy Marble Museum.
The Chriskindl Market closes January 3, but ice-skating fun continues through the end of January.
Lock 3 is now open weekdays and weekends through January 3as follows:
* Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 11am - 9pm;
* Thursday special hours: Christmas Eve (11am - 6pm) New Year’s Eve - Akron’s First Night, (11am - 11pm.)
* Saturdays, 11am - 10pm,
* Sundays, noon -6pm,
* Lock 3 is closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Ice rink admission is always free, and skate rental is $2.
In January, the ice rink will be staffed every weekend, Thursdays 11am -9pm; Fridays and Saturdays, 11am - 10pm; Sundays, 12 - 6pm, with special hours on the Martin Luther King School holiday, 11am - 6pm. At other times during daylight hours when the rink is unattended, those with their own skates may use the rink “at their own risk.”
“Despite cutbacks in the city’s budget,” says Deputy Mayor for Administration Dave Lieberth, “Akron area residents appreciate free admission to the ice rink, and have also shown their generosity to others.”
This year, Lock 3 was the site for collection of new toys for the Victim Assistance program and items for the Akron Canton regional Food Bank.
A special January event at Lock 3 is always the “Firefighters Chili Challenge” to benefit Akron Children’s Hospital Burn Unit, which will be held Friday, January 8, 11am - 1:30 pm. This well-attended lunchtime draw for downtown workers pits Akron’s police and fire forces against each other for chili bragging rights. Other city departments compete, and two downtown law firms - Roetzel & Andress and Brouse McDowell - also square-off in a friendly competition.
Akron was forced to withdraw support for Chriskindl Market vendors from its sister city of Chemnitz, Germany this year due to budget constraints, but three German vendors opened cottages at Lock 3 on their own, and were joined by a dozen other area craftsmen, artisans, and bakers, who will keep the Chriskindl Market open through Sunday, January 3.
