The Paris Independent
17
November 18, 2023
S P O RT S Paris Figure Skating Club will celebrate 60th anniversary with special ‘Blast from the Past’ Gala By Casandra Turnbull The Paris Figure Skating Club is celebrating its 60th anniversary this season and they’re doing so by paying homage to its history and inviting alumni to return for a special Gala to celebrate. Let’s start this story at the beginning. Figure skating in Paris dates to 1963 when founding members Vi Cormier, Honey Kolanko and Donna Mason had a vision to bring skating to town. This vision turned to reality when the club was officially launched with the support of an executive committee and one professional coach, Jacqueline Barnes. To end that first year of skating lessons, the newly founded club held the first-year end ice show called “Ice Capers,” on March 26, 1964. Eighty-five members skated in that Dutch-themed gala signifying the start of an annual tradition that would mark the end every year of lessons in the spring. Over the years the Ice Capers show has dazzled audiences with a variety of themes, cute performances, and lot of local talent. So, in recognition of 60 years of success, the Paris Figure Skating Club’s year end Gala on March 23, 2024 will be appropriately titled “A Blast from the Past.”
While it will feature routines and performances from current members, coaches and the executive are inviting alumni back to the arena for a good old fashioned reunion on skates. “We are going to include a number from Paris Figure Skating Alumni. If the alumni can no longer be on the ice, we would still invite them to the event and we are looking at ways to include those alumni in the event. We would love to have as many of the alumni attend as possible,” said current Club President Lisa Campbell.
There are two performances planned for the day – one in the afternoon and one in the evening – but between performances the Club will host a reception in the Lafarge Hall of the Brant Sports Complex for alumni to catch up and take a walk down memory lane. Club members and executive are busy gathering history, combing through past photos and carnival guides to put on display. The Club’s growth over the last six decades has been remarkable, said Campbell. Continued on page 18
The Paris Figure Skating Club’s 2nd Annual Ice Capers Gala of 1965, with master of ceremonies Walter Williams (Recognize that name? The Walter Williams Amphitheatre in Lion’s Park!)
