PNC Winterfest has teamed up for the first time with the Peoria Youth Hockey Association and the Peoria Rivermen to host a two-part tournament series for mite- and squirt-level hockey teams. The mites played on the outdoor rink and on the indoor Peoria Civic Center ice on Dec. 9, and the squirts will play Jan. 6. (Photo courtesy of PNC Winterfest)

Move over New York City. Peoria will have its own New Year’s Eve ball drop this year at PNC Winterfest.

“It’s such a fun new event. I don’t know of any other cities around here that do a ball drop, so it’s pretty unique to the area,” said Beau Sutherland, business development manager for the Peoria Civic Center.

In its third year, PNC Winterfest centers around an outdoor ice skating rink at the corner of Fulton and Jefferson streets in downtown Peoria. The rink draws thousands of skaters each season, and Sutherland is hoping at least a few thousand will turn out for the New Year’s Eve celebration, which will include fireworks at midnight.

The free event is even catering to families with kids or those who prefer to be home earlier with two ball drops: one at 7 p.m. and one at midnight. The event also will include an outdoor stage featuring  music by Dexter O’Neal and the Funk Yard. Concessions, including a full bar, will be available for purchase inside the Civic Center.

With the ice rink open from noon to 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, skaters will have a prime view of the 7 p.m. ball drop, which will take place in the City Hall parking lot.

PNC Winterfest, featuring a 68-by-100-foot ice rink and a 100-foot long ice slide, is open for the third year at the corner of Fulton and Jefferson streets in downtown Peoria through Jan. 14. About 1,000 people turned out for opening weekend in late November despite unseasonably warm temperatures at the time. (Photo courtesy of PNC Winterfest)

While there is no cost to watch the ball drop or listen to the band, the cost to skate is $10 per person with skate rental included or $8 without skate rental. Skating for 5 and under is $5.

The idea for the ball drop grew out of a conversation Sutherland had with Peoria City Councilwoman Beth Jensen.

“She had mentioned that she’d seen a New Year’s Eve ball drop up in Ludington, Mich.  I thought that was a fun idea so I talked to our staff to see if we could come up with something,” Sutherland said. “We knew the only way it would happen is if we had someone who could build the ball, because I have no idea how to build a six-foot in diameter metal ball and put all that lighting on it. We have 220 LED lights going on it, so it should be pretty bright.”

The Civic Center has partnered with Better Built, the Union Construction Network, to build the ball.

“We met with them, and they really just embraced it,” Sutherland said. “We’ve been documenting the building of the ball from the sheet metal being cut out at PIPCO to it going to the sheet metal apprentice workshop, where they put the ball together. Now it’s at the electrician’s apprentice shop in Bartonville, where they’re putting all the LED lights on it.”

PNC Winterfest has partnered with Better Built, the Union Construction Network, to build this six-foot circular metal ball that will feature 220 LED lights to be dropped in the Peoria City Hall Parking lot at both 7 p.m. and midnight on New Year’s Eve. The event is free and open to the public. (Photo courtesy of PNC Winterfest)

Sutherland said the Morton-based R. Gingerich Crane company will drop the ball from a height of about 125 feet. “Twice,” he added with a chuckle.

In addition to sponsoring the New Year’s Eve’s event, the Union Construction Network has donated the material and labor necessary to build the ball and Illinois American Water is sponsoring the fireworks, which has kept the event free and open to the public.

“This will be a great fun new tradition, whether you come inside or whether you watch it from your car across the street,” Sutherland said.

About 1,000 people turned out for PNC Winterfest’s opening this year the weekend after Thanksgiving despite unseasonably warm temperatures at the time. Statistics compiled the past two years show skaters are coming from the Tri-County Area, as well as from the Quad Cities, Bloomington, Normal and Springfield.

PNC Winterfest features a rink that is 68 feet by 100 feet and a 100-foot long ice slide.  The rink is open evenings and weekends for now with extended hours beginning Dec. 20 when Peoria schools break for the holidays.

Sutherland said an effort was made this year to reach out to area schools to offer group discounts for field trips.  Scout troops, sororities and church groups have also booked private events at the rink or called ahead during public hours to take advantage of a group sale price of $7 per person for groups of 20 or more.

PNC Winterfest has also teamed up for the first time with the Peoria Youth Hockey Association and the Peoria Rivermen to host a two-part tournaments series for mite and squirt level hockey teams. The mites played on the outdoor rink and on the indoor Civic Center ice on Dec. 9, and the squirts, ages 8 to 9, will play on Jan. 6.

“We have 12 teams coming in from all over central Illinois, including Decatur, Champaign, Springfield and Bloomington,” Sutherland said. “I’m really excited that we’re bringing people in from out of town and giving these kids an opportunity to play on an outdoor rink.”

Cassie Appleyard of Morton and Cameron Reicheneker were among skaters who went to the rink for the first time earlier this month. “I would definitely go back. I would love to take my 7-year-old niece,” Appleyard said. “It was affordable, and there was a great atmosphere. Skating under the twinkling lights was really pretty.”

For more information, including daily hours of operation, visit the PNC Winterfest Facebook page or website at www.pncwinterfest.com. PNC Winterfest will remain open through Jan. 14. 

—PNC Winterfest returns for third year of outdoor fun plus New Year’s Eve ball drop debut–