New Balance warming hut grand opening set

NORWAY — There will be a Grand Opening of the New Balance warming hut on Friday, January 11, from 6-8 p.m. Thanks to the New Balance Foundation, the popular ice rink located on Cottage Street now has a warming hut!

Other partners include the New Balance Community Connection associate volunteers, Oxford Hills Technical School Building Technology class, R. E. Lowell Lumber, Flanders Electric, Swett Signs Inc., Nick and Sharon Barker, Mike and Chris Twitchell, Dead River Co. and countless individual volunteers.

Together the New Balance Foundation and the Town of Norway are committed to keeping the Norway community moving. The downtown ice rink will engage children and families allowing them to skate at no cost. In addition to the skating rink, the Recreation Area has open space where children can build snowmen, individuals can walk, snowshoe and cross country ski. A warming hut addresses the need for people taking part in these activities to take shelter to warm up and then continue their activity.

The New Balance Foundation is a charitable foundation established in 1981 and funded by New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. The Foundation’s mission is to support effective charitable organizations which perform humanitarian services for the betterment of children and the local community.

The celebration will include a ribbon cutting, recognition of key donors and volunteers who helped build the hut, refreshments, a bonfire, raffles and of course ice skating! The ice rink surface so many people enjoy year after year has been maintained by volunteer Bruce Fox since 1994.

Come join in, check out the New Balance warming hut and celebrate this winter recreation area! A backup date in case of a storm is Friday, January 18, from 6-8 p.m. For more information, contact Norway Parks & Recreation Director Deb Partridge at 743-6651 or debpart@megalink.net.