What’s the history of outdoor ice skating in Anchorage? How did the midtown Cuddy Park Ice Oval come to exist? What is Anchorage’s Winter Solstice Festival and how is it linked to Anchorage ice skating and the Park? This Outdoor Explorer answers these questions and more. Every year the Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department and their partners host a Winter Solstice Festival at the Cuddy Family Midtown Park. The event features ice skating on the park’s ice oval, horse drawn sled rides, food trucks and dog sled rides. On this Outdoor Explorer host Paul Twardock roamed the event interviewing participants, organizers, volunteers, politicians and the events and ice ovals founders. In the second half of the show Jim Renkert talks about growing up in Anchorage ice skating and skiing, how the sports have become the core of Anchorage’s winter city ethos and his vision of bringing winter sports to all Alaskan youth.