IceWorks 2019 Annual Ice Show

Hello, all! Long time lurker, first time poster here. I am going to my very first ice show this Friday, in Aston PA, and wondered if any other Golden Skate forum folks were going to be there. I'll be sitting on the ice, at a table. I wasn't sure about the view in the various "premium ticket" sections, but thought it might be fun to sit on the ice. If nothing else, I get to say that I was on the ice with Gracie Gold! Any tips / advice about attending a live ice show? Thanks in advance, and I hope to see some of you there!

If you're going to be sitting on the ice: Dress Warmly!

No flash photos, you'll blind the skaters.

MsPolyTheist said:

Hello, all! Long time lurker, first time poster here. I am going to my very first ice show this Friday, in Aston PA, and wondered if any other Golden Skate forum folks were going to be there. I'll be sitting on the ice, at a table. I wasn't sure about the view in the various "premium ticket" sections, but thought it might be fun to sit on the ice. If nothing else, I get to say that I was on the ice with Gracie Gold! Any tips / advice about attending a live ice show? Thanks in advance, and I hope to see some of you there!

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Congrats on posting; post long, post often.

On the ice is an interesting concept. The main rink at IceWorks has hockey glass, so will it be in front or behind? I’ve only been to a comp there, not a show.

It was plenty cold on a 90 degree August day. Friday is forecast cloudy and 60 if I’m not mistaken, so probably even colder.

Go to the ladies room on Rink No. 4? across from the restaurant, (not the cafe). Less crowded, fewer (or no) skaters changing.

Enjoy yourself

Dress warmly!!!!

Enjoy the show! The main cafe there has decent/healthy food. Try the rice bowls!

Try to come in the summer, the week of the Philadelphia International Summer Competition (formerly known as "Liberty"). You'll get to see the skaters try out their new programs for the coming season.

Great point! Luckily I went to Arctic Norway last year, so I am well stocked up on warm clothing (and even bought a very cute hat there, where they REALLY know what cold is!).

Thanks to ALL. I probably wouldn't have thought about needing warm clothing, and I *definitely* appreciate a tip about the best ladies' room to use! Healthy food is also an unexpected bonus. My memory of childhood ice rink food is limited to the metallic-tasting hot chocolate that came out of a machine... And, I am DEFINITELY going to the summer event!

MsPolyTheist said:

Thanks to ALL. I probably wouldn't have thought about needing warm clothing, and I *definitely* appreciate a tip about the best ladies' room to use! Healthy food is also an unexpected bonus. My memory of childhood ice rink food is limited to the metallic-tasting hot chocolate that came out of a machine... And, I am DEFINITELY going to the summer event!

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Good to know we'll see you at the Liberty competition, I'm definitely planning a trip this year (and thanks to @iluvtodd at a previous comp that I even know about the other bathroom )

The black bean rice bowls from the rinkside cafe are :thumbsup:

Please come back and give us a report on the show!

Will do!

Ahhhh...I'm dying here. DYING. There was just no way I could get organized to go in time, it's a very long drive from me and I have to make sure my blind BIL has everything he needs before I start out on what would be a 5 plus day trip for me- for instance if I started this second I would not get there until Friday night. I want video! Gracie! And if you're on the ice wear as much as you can. You can always take things off. I'd wear gloves for sure. I have a tendency to take them off and put them back on a lot, but I'm not on the ice either.

moonvine said:

Ahhhh...I'm dying here. DYING. There was just no way I could get organized to go in time, it's a very long drive from me and I have to make sure my blind BIL has everything he needs before I start out on what would be a 5 plus day trip for me- for instance if I started this second I would not get there until Friday night. I want video! Gracie! And if you're on the ice wear as much as you can. You can always take things off. I'd wear gloves for sure. I have a tendency to take them off and put them back on a lot, but I'm not on the ice either.

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Shes watching a show from beside the ice, she doesn't need gloves, that is pretty extreme.

I wear gloves to competitions & ice shows, not because of the cold, but because I tend to clap a lot. The gloves protect my hands from getting too chapped!

Honestly, I'm usually too warm wherever I go — I'm at "that age" — but it doesn't inconvenience me to bring along a pair of (touch screen friendly) gloves. And I know I won't need that Norwegian hat I'm bringing, but my hair is pretty ugh today. Besides, the hat is SUPER cute, and I get compliments on it whenever I wear it. So, it's coming along! And I will certainly try to get a bit of iPhone video, but I also want to be able to watch and appreciate what I'm seeing, so I won't record the whole thing!

MsPolyTheist said:

Honestly, I'm usually too warm wherever I go — I'm at "that age" — but it doesn't inconvenience me to bring along a pair of (touch screen friendly) gloves. And I know I won't need that Norwegian hat I'm bringing, but my hair is pretty ugh today. Besides, the hat is SUPER cute, and I get compliments on it whenever I wear it. So, it's coming along! And I will certainly try to get a bit of iPhone video, but I also want to be able to watch and appreciate what I'm seeing, so I won't record the whole thing!

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At least 75 miles north of Aston, it was freezing (literally) today, so you would need gloves just because you need gloves. And the hat too. I'm of a certain age, and I was cold.

And I love and appreciate photos and videos, but I don't do it myself for the same reasons. I just remember in my mind's eye.

Anyone with a report??? I'm dying here.

OMG. Y'all! Someone has to have been there!

moonvine said:

OMG. Y'all! Someone has to have been there!

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There are links in the US Ladies' thread.

el henry said:

There are links in the US Ladies' thread.

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Thank you!

Hello again! Sorry for the long delay in my report — when I came home from the show, a songbird managed to follow me into the house, and after some sitcom-like slapstick involving my husband and our cats trying to evict the bird and me running away from the bird on polished wood floors...I ended up running into a closet door and breaking my nose! So I've been a bit preoccupied with doctors and ice packs for a few days.

The show — my first live ice show! — was very entertaining and more full of children and parents than I expected. And some of those kids were pretty good, although I think only a few of them are likely headed for international competition. Jeremy Abbott and Gracie Gold were basically terrific. Jeremy did a backflip THREE separate times, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven! I never expected to see that element performed live once, but THREE times?! Amazing! I confess, I yelled "HAT TRICK" after the third time! And he was truly in fine form. Gracie was a little more uneven, having trouble with the occasional jump, but I thought she looked fantastic overall. She still does not look happy when she's out on the ice, pretty much just like she did in competition the last couple of years. Still, I was delighted to get to see her skate live.

Thank you all SO much for the advice re dressing warmly: I was surprised how cold it was! I couldn't feel my toes for something like an hour after I got home! And my Norway hat served me well, although unfortunately I was still wearing it when I smashed my nose into the closet door, so I had to do a little washing out of blood during the week... And the café really was surprisingly good. People kept telling me that, but it was still a nice, unexpected bonus.

Here is me and Gracie (and my Norway hat — it's the dangling pom poms that got the brunt of the blood) after the show: https://twitter.com/amyguskin/status/1114344134783963142

And, I posted a couple of terrible iPhone videos of Jeremy and Gracie. I was really trying to *watch* the skating, to appreciate it with my eyes rather than through the screen, so I had the phone up near my face but was actually watching the skating *over* it. Still, you can get a decent idea of how well they were skating. Here are the links:

Jeremy Abbott ("You and I Both")

Gracie Gold ("I Put a Spell on You")

Thank you for the detailed follow up report Ms. PolyTheist,

so glad you got to see the show, and that you enjoyed it:agree:

And please get well soon from your broken nose