Rainbow City Roller Rink

Rainbow City Roller Rink is an art collection which has recently opened downtown Detroit. The collection is created by FriendsWithYou and brought to Detroit by the Library Street Collective. Rainbow City has also been installed in Toronto, New York and in Miami.  

The rink is located in Detroit, at 1001 Woodward Avenue which is kiddie corner from the Ice rink in Campus Martius. Skate times are Wednesday through Sunday from 2:00-9:00pm, however reservations must be scheduled in advance. You can reserve your skate time online at rainbowcitydetroit.com. Entrance to the rink is free, as well as skate and locker rentals. You must complete a waiver prior to entrance. Pro tip- print and fill out the waiver before getting to the rink to speed up the process. My husband and I pre-printed and filled out our waivers and we got to the front of the line this way as many people were spending their time waiting in line to get a waiver and then sitting around to fill them out. We were actually first in line to get into the rink. You are also requested to arrive 15 minutes before your skate time and you are given 45 minutes for your reservation. 

The installation is playful and quickly brings me back to childhood. The rink floor is green and white striped and there are large ballon-like installations on the ceiling that are multicolored. In the center of the ceiling is a large 30ft rotating "snowman" balloon. As standard at any roller rink there is fun upbeat music as well as multicolored lights flashing while you skate.

It clearly had been quite some time since Nathan or I have roller skated.  We may have almost wiped out a few times, but we eventually got into our skating groove. The installation has a circular bench in the middle of the floor which was a great place to stop and rest or to sit and snap a few pictures as you are not allowed to have your phone out while you are skating. 

Overall Nate and I  had a really great time. It was a fun way to spend some time on a Saturday. I would highly recommend checking out Rainbow City Roller Rink for any age. If you are interested in skating, don't forget to make your reservation online before the installation is taken down,. Rainbow City Roller Rink will be in Detroit until January 27th! 

                                                                      

Holidays in Detroit

I absolutely love Detroit during the holiday season. The city really knows how to do it up! Not only are there many great restaurants and bars to eat at with family but the city completely transforms into a winter wonderland. The Holiday Markets at Cadillac Square are absolutely adorable and a great way to support small business. Cadillac Square also has a Lodge which will put you in the holiday spirit. Cadillac Lodge is decorated exceptionally and is a warm, inviting area for friends and family to gather around on couches, and at tables to play games and enjoy one another's company. There of course is a small bar in the Lodge where you can purchase beverages. Nathan and I sat inside for awhile warming up playing checkers. It was a simple way to spend some quality time together and we both enjoyed the nostalgia of playing checkers. My best friend and I also explored the city on our Detroit Day Date and we had a great time riding around the city on the Bird Scooters exploring all the best holiday spots!

        

Capital Park also has Holiday Market Shops and a large area to gather around fireplaces. Capital Park even has a small turf area for dogs! There is also a small shop to purchase Christmas trees as well as wreaths and other festive holiday plants.

 

Campus Martius has an outdoor ice skating rink and of course the 60 foot tall Christmas Tree proudly sitting on a platform above the fountain. This is the first year that the Tree was sourced from Metro Detroit. The tree is decorated with  about 19,000 lights and ornaments. It's one of my favorite spots to get a picture in front of every year. This year Campus Martius will host a second rink, however this one is not for ice skating, but roller skating! The Rainbow City Roller Rink is located at 1001 Woodward Ave just across the corner from the ice skating rink. The Roller Rink is completely free of charge, including skate rental, and lockers! The rink does accept walk ins however, it appears that they fill up very quickly, but you can make a reservation online! My husband and I have a reservation for this Saturday and I cannot wait!

The walk from Campus Martius to the  Spirit of Detroit Plaza is pretty magical. There are multi-colored light installations that guide your way and swinging benches to rest on the way there (even though the walk is short). My favorite is the arch walkway made from pine that is laced with white lights. It smells completely like Christmas as you walk through and of course is a perfect photo op! Once you get to the Plaza there are adorable igloos that are heated where you can lounge and play games like Jenga. I brought my Mom and younger sister, Kayla down and we played Jenga and had a great time. Of course, my luck I knocked the Jenga tower over.

 

       

I could go on forever but if you are looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon I would highly recommend visiting downtown Detroit during this holiday season. I am planning to spend NYE downtown and will be sharing what we get into then! If you have any suggestions, please feel free to send them my way!