Students and friends gathered at Peaks Ice Arena for a night of ice skating, treats and fun on Friday, Nov. 7.
The event is held annually, and the arena is closed to the public. Tickets must be purchased online or at the door.
The event features a variety of activities, including the ice skating event itself, a broomball tournament and a Bob Marley paint-along.
The event brought students and friends together to have fun and meet new people. With the event closed to the public, a BYU ID was required to purchase a ticket.
Abby Luke, who’s not a BYU student, got a ticket through her friend.
“A friend of mine asked me out on a date. I go to UVU, so I had no idea about the event until we arrived, but I thought it was super fun, very lively and exciting. I loved that there were so many different things you could do,” Luke said.
The event is held annually in November around midterm time, and it provides an outlet for students to relax and destress from school life and tests. Whitney Przybyla, a BYU student, said she appreciates the timing of the event.
“This is off of the BYU campus, which is nice. Students spend so much time on campus, so it’s nice to get away a little bit to a different location," Przybyla said. "It helps students to get their minds off school and the stress of midterms.”
An event of this size requires a lot of planning — from figuring out logistics and booking the venue, to setting up activities and securing funds.
While so much preparation goes into it, Abbi Jacobson, a Fall Freeze coordinator, said seeing the turnout and people having fun was the most rewarding part of the night.
“When you put on an event, you always wonder, 'Will it turn out good?' But seeing everyone have a blast is always so fun,” Jacobson said.
The organizers were wondering if the turnout for the event would be good. With so many campus events happening on the same day because of the Date Night with the Reeses event, it was hard to know if students would show up. However, it turned out to exceed expectations.
“There were other events going on at BYU tonight, so we were a little more nervous about that, but it has been so much fun. I hope that they (students) were able to have a good time. It's midterm season, and finals are coming up. I hope they're able to just kind of let loose and have fun,” Jacobson said.