Nishita Das (center) laughs while skating with Rohit Banga (left) and Chinmay Andhare at the PNC Winterfest rink at the corner of Fulton Street and Jefferson Avenue in downtown Peoria. In its second year, the rink will be open through Jan. 16. (Photo by Elise Zwicky / For Chronicle Media)

Chaitanya Rani smiled broadly after sliding down a 100-foot ice slide at Peoria’s new outdoor skating rink downtown.

“This is my first time ice skating,” said Rani, a native of India. “It’s awesome.”

Rani was one of about 20 people skating at the PNC Winterfest rink at the corner of Fulton Street and Jefferson Avenue next to the Peoria Civic Center on a recent Saturday afternoon.

The rink opened for a second season the day after Thanksgiving and will run through Jan. 16.

Winterfest had a better opening this year after unusually heavy rains last November plagued the inaugural operation.

“We had over 800 skaters out here for the first weekend this year,” said Beau Sutherland, the Peoria Civic Center’s manager of business development.

The rink is open evenings and weekends for now with extended hours beginning Dec. 20 when schools break for the holidays. Admission is the same as last year: $10 with skate rental or $8 for those who bring their own skates. There’s no charge for spectators to watch the fun in a heated tent, where hot chocolate and other concessions can be purchased.

Responding to feedback from last year’s skaters, Winterfest features a larger rink this year that replaces a live entertainment stage set up last year.

“Last year the rink was 60-feet-by-80-feet and this year it’s 68-by-100, so it’s quite a bit larger and that seems to be popular with everyone that’s come out so far,” Sutherland said. “The feedback from last year was that people just wanted to skate and weren’t as interested in the stage entertainment.”

New this year is a Breakfast with Santa event on Saturday, Dec. 17, and Sunday, Dec. 18. “Along with two hours of private skating, which is included in the ticket price, participants will have a breakfast buffet and Santa will be on hand to take pictures. The kids will also get a small present from Santa,” Sutherland said.

Only 75 tickets will be sold for each day at $25 for adults and $15 for children 15 and under.  Tickets must be purchased in advance online at www.pncwinterfest.com. Breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m., with the jolly old elf arriving at 9 a.m. Skating will be open for attendees from 9 to 11:30 a.m.

Operationally, the set up at the rink is much cleaner this year, Sutherland said. Rubber mats have been strategically placed so skaters can easily walk from the rink to the warming tent to the concession area without having to remove their skates.

“We wanted to make it easier for people, and I think they’re enjoying that. Even the ice slide has been more popular. We modified it so it’s about half a foot taller. It seems like it’s been busier than ever this first weekend,” Sutherland added. “Both the kids and adults are really enjoying it.”

The majority of site improvements made to the facility involved fixing drainage issues  that won’t necessary be noticeable to the public.

“We elevated the land out there by a couple of feet and put in a lot of drainage,” Sutherland said. “From the standpoint of water runoff or accumulation, which was our big problem last year, there was none of that with the heavy rain we had those couple of days (in late November) with the improvements we made.”

Outdoor skating rinks seem to be growing in popularity, Sutherland said, noting that officials from El Paso, Texas, and St. Louis, Mo., have called the Civic Center with questions about how to create and operate a public rink. Ice Rink Events, based in Texas, built the Peoria rink.

Chaitanya Rani slides down a 100-foot ice slide at the PNC Winterfest ice skating rink in downtown Peoria.  The 68-foot-by-100-foot rink attracted more than 800 skaters during its opening weekend in November. (Photo by Elise Zwicky / For Chronicle Media)

“For the size of our community, it’s a really nice attraction,” Sutherland said. “We’ve found a lot of other cities that are maybe a little larger than us are just trying it out for the first time. So we’re a little bit ahead of the game.”

One request made by skaters last year to keep the rink open all winter was deemed economically unfeasible, Sutherland noted.

“The only way we’d be able to keep it open all winter is if were to put in a permanent solution like we have inside the (Civic Center) Arena. The cost lies in the rental of the chiller and the rink supplies that operate the rink. To stay open an additional two months would essentially double our expense,” Sutherland said.

The rink is available for private parties, including companies that want to offer a fun event to their employees, parents hosting a child’s birthday party or large families that want the ice to themselves. Groups of 20 or more that want to skate during public hours no longer need to call ahead to get the group rate as long as they pay in one transaction.

While the rink inspired at least three marriage proposals last year, none have been reported so far this year. However, several couples have inquired about taking wedding photos there, Sutherland said.

“There’s no cost to have your wedding photos taken there, but we ask them to give us an opportunity to share a photo on our website,” he added.

For more detailed information on hours and events, visit the PNC Winterfest Facebook page or its website at www.pncwinterfest.com.

— Larger rink part of Peoria’s PNC Winterfest —