A Grand Celebration in Carrot River

An event celebrating the grand re-opening of the Carrot River Arena was held on November 4, 2017. This event was held to mark the 35th anniversary of the Arena.

The community of Carrot River has a long history of strong support from both the Town of Carrot River and the RM of Moose Range #486. The community wanted to celebrate all the progress made over the years with an event to honour the work, time and funds committed to the community by volunteers, donors, staff, councils and users of the rink. 

Here are some of the upgrades to the Arena that have been completed since 2014:

  • Electrical upgrades;
  • New lights: ice surface and others upgraded to new LED;
  • New lobby flooring and bleachers;
  • Upgrades to the concession;
  • Remodeled entrance to the Arena and upgraded all exterior doors;
  • New insulation;
  • Installed a janitor closet and new lobby dressing room;
  • Player bench upgrades;
  • New score clock (donated by Carrot River Minor Hockey);
  • Zamboni room upgrades and expansion;
  • New Zamboni (purchased for a fall 2018 delivery);
  • New lobby tables, and;
  • Other operational upgrades to meet current public health & safety standards.

Miranda Blaber, Recreation Coordinator in Carrot River, has been a major part in making these upgrades possible. The hiring of a full-time Arena Manager created the opportunity to see these upgrades completed, and also gave her the extra time to apply for grants and create other recreation opportunities in the community. According to Miranda, “It is only because so many people believe in our community and believe that our community deserves quality places to socialize and play, that we have been able to make the progress that has been made.”’

Kevin Trew, Town Administrator for Carrot River, was instrumental in making some changes to the governance structure of the Carrot River Recreation Board as it applied to supervision of staff. For example, Bylaw 2015/01 was updated to revise the role of the Carrot River Recreation Board. The subsequent shift in responsibility for staff supervision, from a volunteer Recreation Board to a Municipal Administrator, created some efficiencies that made these upgrades to the Arena possible. 

It was this combination of great support from the Town of Carrot River, the RM of Moose Range #486, and the support of the Recreation Board that led to a fantastic partnership which has brought many changes to the Carrot River Arena and the community at large.

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