Oakdale has long been known as a community which not just bands together, but gets results.

This Christmas season will be no different, as the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce Foundation proudly presents the Julia Haidlen Memorial Ice Skating for they what hope to be the first of many Christmas seasons.

Planned for the center of town, the memorial rink will be located between Wood Park and the Oakdale Skate Park, with parking available to the south and east of the location. The rink will be open to the public seven days a week from Dec. 3, 2025 to Jan. 3, 2026; closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Skate sessions will be one hour in length. Tickets are $20 per person; children age 12 and under $15.

“This came up years ago with Ami Poncabare. She loves Christmas,” Oakdale Chamber CEO Cher Bairos shared. “She always has loved Christmas and we said, someday we will have an ice skating rink here in Oakdale.”

Someday came a bit earlier than expected, however, when Bairos received a call late last fall from Gretchen (Haidlen) Arbini expressing interest in sponsoring the remaining “Joy” banners which hang from local street lights each holiday season.

According to Bairos, Arbini inquired further about Oakdale Enrichment Society and its 501c3 status, as well as what the funds raised through sponsorship were used for.

Unbeknownst to Bairos at the initial conversation, Arbini’s wheels were also spinning. As Arbini, along with her family and a large part of the Oakdale community were grieving the passing of longtime community member and former Citizen of the Year recipient Julia Haidlen, this proved to be a unique opportunity for all who loved her and wished to honor her to do so through donations toward the Julia Haidlen Memorial Ice Skating Rink.

“Julia loved Christmas,” Bairos shared of the partnership. “She loved everything about it. It’s exciting times.”

Bairos ran the ice skating rink idea by Oakdale Enrichment Society, which approved it. As plans began to unfold, it became apparent the project would be too big for OES and it was turned over to the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

To date, through a generous donation by the family, contributions from the community, businesses and friends, the group has raised enough (monetary and in kind) to launch the event, which they hope continues for seasons to come.

“The goal is to make it sustainable, so that we can bring it back, year over year,” Mindy Van Til, Oakdale Chamber Marketing and Operations VP shared. “Funds raised will roll over.”

The chamber representatives shared there’s varying pieces and parts needed not to just host the rink, but the construction alone presents its own challenges. Thanks largely in part to in kind sponsors Sean Carroll of RFC, Inc. and Dan Wood with DA Wood Construction, that will not be a problem.

Now, with the money secured, the plans in place and the event literally weeks away, organizers still need the community’s help.

“The biggest thing for this is going to be volunteers,” Bairos shared, noting that in order to keep the event overall costs low and sustainable, there will be only one paid staffer.

“That’s important to know, aside from staffing the ice person,” Van Til added of the need for volunteers to oversee the rink. “The person making sure our ice doesn’t melt and crack and all the things, everything (else) is volunteer.”

From ticket sales, skate checkout to everything in between, the community will be needed to volunteer a few hours of their time on any of the given days to help make the rink a success. Volunteers aged 15 and up are welcome.

“They can sign up for as many positions they want or can commit to,” Volunteer Coordinator Bri Swan stated. “We want to make sure we’re not putting too much on people’s plates and then they get burned out. We want them to feel the magic of the season and bringing the community together.”

Swan said that during the month that the Julia Haidlen Memorial Ice Rink is open, they will have a total of 800 shifts to fill. To date a little over 200 have been spoken for.

“We need a lot of volunteers. We’re just starting to get this out there,” Bairos added. “Instead of one per category, we’re going to need two or three.”

The ‘categories’ Bairos speaks of are four areas the team has identified will need staffing. Those four include: Ticket Booth, Skate Shack, Party Plaza and Holiday Helper.

“The Holiday Helper is just sort of that floating position,” Swan said. “They’ll pick up trash and make sure things are looking magical and fill in, in areas we might be short staffed.”

“Just think about what this is going to do for our community,” Bairos beamed at the realization of bringing more visitors to the community and its businesses during the Christmas season.

“I get excited about it, because I know the community is going to love it,” Van Til added. “There’s no question in my mind, the community is going to have a blast and the community is going to love it. I also know people are going to come from other cities. It’s going to bring people downtown that have not yet been there.”

As they turn the corner of watching the dream become reality, the representatives acknowledge their pride as well as gratitude for all that are helping make this come to fruition.

“One of the biggest things for us, is being able to honor a lady and family that has done so much for our community,” Bairos said of Julia Haidlen and the Haidlen family.

“We have a huge list of people that just donated blindly, that said, I’m committed to this,” VanTil said of the early donors. “ A lot of them were impacted and knew Julia personally. That’s where I think we knew this was going to happen. It’s like the community came right out right away and said we’re on board. That’s when it – no pun intended – it just snowballed.”

“That is just the way our community has embraced this,” Bairos confirmed.

So now the community needs to roll up their sleeves and pitch in with the work via volunteering.

“What I’m most excited about, is just having something for the Oakdale community as a whole,” Bairos continued. “Honoring a pillar in our community, that absolutely loved Christmas. I just can’t wait to see the families so happy. The kids having something do to over Christmas break, whether that be volunteering or just skating.”

“I think it’s going to be a really cool addition to the Small Town Christmas vibe and bring our community together throughout the season,” Swan said. “I think it’s really awesome we’re able to honor Julia Haidlen as well and partner with local families and businesses.”

To volunteer, purchase tickets or get additional information on the Julia Haidlen Memorial Ice Skating Rink, visit www.smalltownchristmas.co

On Instagram follow smalltownchristmas for updates and upcoming events.

“Just the experience, the experience overall and we don’t have to go anywhere else,” Bairos summarized. “It’s magical. The music, the lights, the decorations. Everything coming together, the absolute word is magical.”