It's almost time to lace up those skates and head to the Crescent Lake here in Portage la Prairie. Christine Verwey spoke on behalf of the committee that maintains the skating surfaces and explains, it's not where they want it to be yet, but you can skate on it. She notes, this year, the path won't be as long; it will only be one kilometer, rather than two. Verwey explains this is because Stride Place provides the hot water for the homemade Zamboni, and it was a bit too far last year to access the water. In addition to the skating path and hockey rinks, Verwey announced this year, they'll be creating curling lanes for milk jug curling. Verwey adds, two years ago when the previous committee discontinued working on the lake, her and other eager volunteers knew they needed to keep it going. This is the second year this committee has taken on the role and their happy to do so.

"Our whole committee feels a sense of pride," says Verwey. "Everyone who uses it gives great feedback. They're just in awe over what we've created on the lake."

Verwey stresses, without the volunteers, and committee members she could not get this done. She'd like to extend a thank you to all of those who have helped get the crescent lake skating paths ready to go. Verwey adds, be careful out there, there are cracks and bumps. She is hopeful they'll have the skating surfaces at their best just in time for Christmas Break.