In a sure sign of the changing seasons, more than twenty volunteers met Nov. 5 at Damariscotta River Association’s (DRA) Round Top Farm on Business Route 1 to begin this winter’s assembly of the DRA Community Skating Rink. The crew spent the morning installing boards and brackets on the ground around the nearly 10,000 square foot area, creating the walls that will enclose the 4,900 cubic feet of water needed to fill the rink. 

Matt Filler, head of the DRA’s skating rink volunteer crew, expects to complete the job by the middle of December, weather permitting. 

“We’re waiting to place the liner until early December, to make sure most of the leaves are down and won’t end up inside the rink,” Filler said. “Then, early the next morning – 5:30 a.m. or so – the Fire Department will bring a truck to the field, attach a hose to the hydrant on the road, and flood the entire rink in a few minutes. The rest is up to the weather.” 

Alden Hunold, 11, the youngest volunteer on the early morning crew, is looking forward to learning to skate and play hockey this winter. His father, DRA board member and skating rink volunteer Rob Hunold, is completely supportive, on one condition. 

“I told him if you want to skate, then you have to help build the rink,” Hunold said. 

According to DRA Executive Director Steven Hufnagel, DRA’s Round Top Farm is becoming more and more of a focal point for community life, linking the natural world of the river and its watershed with the daily lives and diverse activities of area residents. 

“Round Top has been a gathering place for people over much of its history, beginning in the early 1940s with Round Top Dairy, which drew generations of children and parents to the farm’s ice cream stand each summer,” Hufnagel said.

Operating as a community arts and music center in the 1990s, Round Top became a DRA property in 2008. Salt Bay Chamberfest continues its performance series at Round Top each summer, and the DRA now holds its annual, multi-day Midcoast Music Fest concerts there, drawing crowds from the local region and beyond. The farm’s Darrows Barn is regularly booked for weddings and other special events.

Last year, the popular Damariscotta Farmers’ Market moved its Friday event to Round Top from the DRA’s Great Salt Bay Farm and Heritage Center on Belvedere Road, bringing fresh produce and other local food from fourteen farms and vendors closer downtown.

In addition to providing space for the farmers’ market, the DRA also makes the field available for the now-famous Pumpkinfest Pumpkin Drop each October.

“Round Top has always been a special place,” said Hufnagel. “It’s a big part of the heart of this community.”

This is the sixth year the skating rink will be open free of charge from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily for use by community members and visitors to the area. Skating rink hours are weather-dependent, however, so skaters are advised to check DRA’s Facebook page for daily updates on closures.

Pickup hockey is permitted on weekends between 7 a.m. and noon, and weekdays from noon until 1:30 p.m. Anyone on the rink under 18 must wear a helmet.

The former Round Top ice cream stand across the driveway from the rink will serve as a warming hut from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekend afternoons, where hot chocolate will be available for skaters of all ages, along with free loaner skates for use on the rink.

For more information, contact the DRA at (207) 563-1393 email dra@damariscottariver.org, or view their web site at www.damariscottariver.org.

DRA has active programs in the areas of land conservation, stewardship, community education, water quality monitoring, marine conservation and cultural preservation.