The Pavilion celebrates 10th anniversary and winter solstice
December 17, 2025
Bend Park and Recreation District opened The Pavilion as Central Oregon’s first and only NHL-size ice sheet nearly a decade ago, and is celebrating its 10th anniversary along with the annual winter solstice event on Friday, Dec. 19 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Winter solstice event
The Winter Solstice & 10th Anniversary Celebration encourages attendees to bring a non-perishable food donation for NeighborImpact to receive the discounted fee of $8 per person including skate rental.
The event will include music by DJ Teafly, a performance by the Bend Ice Figure Skating Club at 7 p.m., anniversary cake, treats and hot cocoa. There will also be raffle prizes for attendees.
NeighborImpact’s Food Bank welcomes non-perishable food donations, including pasta, canned vegetables, canned tuna, canned fruit, soups, peanut butter and ready-to-eat meals.
“Winter solstice is a time to celebrate the shortest day and the return of more minutes of daylight to follow,” said Clare Gordon, The Pavilion manager. “This year is extra special because we will also celebrate 10 years of operations and enjoyment of year-round activities at this special facility.”
By the numbers: 10 years at The Pavilion
Since opening in late December 2015, nearly 441,000 individuals have visited The Pavilion, including residents and visitors, for drop-in use. The most visited year was 2023 with more than 75,000 drop-in skate visits in the year.
Hockey participation has been strong since the very first season when 300 adults joined the inaugural league and specialized ice session offerings. In subsequent years, BPRD added youth hockey programs and roller offerings, and more than 7,300 program registrations were logged for youth and adult hockey participants, including leagues, specialized stick time and other programs in 2024. A total of nearly 40,000 hockey registrations have occurred since 2016.
Learn-to-skate ice skating lessons occur for all ages and skill levels annually. Enrollment grew to an all-time high of 1,428 in 2022 and continues to be enjoyed by more than 1,000 skaters annually.
Curling is a popular Olympic sport and has an enthusiastic local following with strong league participation. Each year, it is also one of the district’s fastest programs to fill to capacity when fall and winter registration opens. To date, there have been 2,300 enrollments for curling opportunities, including single session learn-to-curl programs.
Hockey, learn to skate and curling programs are offered by BPRD as well as long-time partners Bend Ice, Bend Rapids and the Bend Curling Club.
“The community’s enthusiasm and enjoyment of ice and roller sports have been great to experience,” added Gordon. “The district couldn’t do this alone, and we extend thanks to our partners who have joined us in fostering introduction, development and competitive spirit to The Pavilion activities.”
To support ice sports, The Pavilion has a refrigeration system consisting of over 13 miles of in-floor tubing to maintain quality ice conditions. In addition to the 30,000 square foot roof, the rink is protected on the south and west sides by clear panels designed to reduce wind and sun exposure on the ice while maintaining the open-air experience. In non-ice season, multisport court flooring is placed for warmer weather activities such as roller skating and roller hockey.
Each summer, The Pavilion hosts a popular childcare program called “the PAC.” Since 2016, there have been more than 17,000 enrollments at the high-demand summer camp program that operates 10 weeks each summer.
When it initially opened to the public, ice season was expected to be from November to March. In practice, it opens in October and ice season concludes in early April, which extends several weeks to the season each year before transitioning to a roller surface for warmer seasons.
“As we move into The Pavilion’s second decade, the district will continue to focus programs and operations around community need, and staff are thankful for the wide variety of activities The Pavilion has to offer!” said Gordon.
