WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Jill Biden extended her holiday theme of 鈥淢agic, Wonder and Joy鈥 to the White House grounds with an ice rink on the South Lawn for children to skate and play hockey in December.
鈥淲ho's ready to skate?鈥 she said, after several ice skating performances by , a 1988 Olympic gold medalist, and the comic-strip dog Snoopy, among others. Earlier this week, she inside the executive mansion that she said were designed to help visitors experience the 鈥渕agic, wonder and joy鈥 of the holidays as they did when they were kids.
The 50-by-70-foot (15.2-by-21.3-meter) rink will operate throughout December, but the White House did not specify days and hours. Washington, D.C.-area schoolchildren and children from families with service members, frontline workers, first responders and teachers will be invited to skate.
The first lady reminisced about skating with her sisters on the frozen canals of the Delaware River when they were growing up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
鈥淲e spent hours gliding across the glistening ice, our cheeks pink from the cold," she said. 鈥淎nd in those hours, what was normally an ordinary town and an ordinary bridge, you know, transformed into a bright sparkling landscape, and just glittering as if it were covered in magic.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how children often see the world in this time of the year, with magic wonder and joy,鈥 she continued. 鈥淲hat's more magical and wonderful and joyful than, you know, being on an ice rink in the South Lawn of the White House. Who knew, right? It's so great to look out the window and to see this down here.鈥
As he escorted her off the ice, Boitano teased that he had an extra costume in the dressing room in case she wanted to join the show.
鈥淲hy not,鈥 Biden said, laughing all the way.
鈥淲e could do a really good pair number,鈥 Boitano said. The first lady stepped off the ice, took her front-row seat in the audience and covered her lap with a blanket in the brisk, 30-degree weather.
The and the will provide lessons through their 鈥淟earn to Play/Learn to Skate鈥 program, which provides first-time participants with free head-to-toe equipment, weekly sessions and coaching.
This rink is not the first one built on the White House grounds.
In 1980, President and first lady who was buried Wednesday in her hometown of Plains, Georgia, had an ice rink built on the South Lawn for Olympian to perform during White House Christmas receptions.
Other supporters of the new rink include the 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Park Service, the 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Park Foundation and Comcast Spectacor.
