(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

as good as it gets

‘Learn to Skate’ event marks 15 years in Red Deer

Jan 2, 2026 | 3:50 PM

Ice skating on a frozen pond: it’s about as Canadian an experience one can find.

And when the temperature is just right, at about -10 Celsius, it hits just right.

With the exception of a year during the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Deer-based Care for Newcomers and its SNAP initiative have been hosting ‘Learn to Skate’ during the first week of January for 15 years now, and once again welcomed newcomers and volunteers to Bower Ponds on Friday.

SNAP leader Ola Zein Alabdin first attended the event a decade ago as a newcomer herself, then as a volunteer, and for the fourth time today was helping lead the charge.

“It’s very important for newcomers so they can get integrated, and what better experience than skating outside on the ice, then coming inside for a hot chocolate,” Alabdin says.

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“Most of our newcomers haven’t felt this before. [It also helps them] to see that they are welcome in this city, and that everybody is welcoming.”

Alabdin concluded, thanking the volunteers and other community members who came out this year to help teach people how to skate.

The Jan. 2 event also serves as a kick-off to SNAP’s youth skate nights, which run Monday and Friday evenings from 5-8 p.m. at the Bower-Kin Community Centre outdoor rink (85 Boyce Street).

Jumpstart provided a grant for this year’s Learn to Skate event, which is also supported by FCSS Red Deer & District, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).