It’s March Break this week here in Nova Scotia. I have three teenagers home plus a girlfriend who visits frequently. I really enjoy having the kids here and am lucky in that I have a fairly flexible schedule, but these breaks can make me quickly feel like I am a cruise director. I embrace the idea of the week feeling like a “break” but the days often start with a “what’s the plan?” question, which means they are waiting for me to list off some sort of activity that a gaggle of teenagers will dissect and quickly let you know if it makes the grade. Time to insert some Forced Family Fun.

I wrote about the concept here, but basically these are non-optional, family activities that everyone will moan about, but will usually agree were worth the effort after the fact. Skating at the Emera Oval definitely falls into this category.

We were headed to the city for an overnight, my three plus the girlfriend, with no clear plan, but an errand we had to do and the girls wanted to do some shopping. This was a perfect time to finally go skating at the Oval! I was so happy that this was even an option as many years on March Break they are already closed, but with this recent cold snap, they are still open and operating for ice skating. They had an evening skate from 7:00-8:30pm, which is prime time for most teenagers.

The girls had all been skating there previously, but my son and I had not. My son is a competitive hockey player, so he sees a fair bit of ice time each year, but I was curious to see what he thought of the Oval. I heard him say at one point “This is pretty cool…”….Forced Family Fun success! 😉 Plus if you are a teenage boy…with a girlfriend…a little nighttime skating at the Oval is a pretty great date night. (just ignore your Mom and sisters if they happen to be with you) 😉

I LOVED it! What a fantastic addition to the city. The Emera Oval originally known as the Canada Games Oval is a skating/speed skating rink installed on the Halifax Commons. The Oval had such a tremendous response from the public when it opened, that the decision was made to make it a permanent fixture. Skating at the Oval is free and you can even borrow skates, provided you have a government ID. Getting some exercise, in the great outdoors, with no cost for families, what a win-win for the public and the city. Great job Halifax!

If your family is starting to get restless, it might be a good time for some Forced Family Fun. Skating at the Emera Oval gets two thumbs up from the four teenagers I brought and a big thumbs up from this cruise director/mom. 😉