By Haldimand Press Staff
HAGERSVILLE—The Hagersville Skating Club held its “European Vacation” Carnival on Saturday, March 18, 2023. The two performances included 115 skaters from CanSkate, Power Skating, PreStar Figure Skating, and StarSkate Figure Skating, along with a group of recent Alumni figure skaters.
HAGERSVILLE—A fierce CanSkate Bull escaping the matadors in Spain.
There were 25 numbers performed in each show, choreographed by Coaches Grace McKeen and Hannah Sike. Carnival Co-chairs, Krista Newman and Lisa Mattice, were assisted by a large group of volunteers to make the show a great success.
“We have landed safely and returned home from our European Vacation! And what a vacation it was!” said Mattice.
HAGERSVILLE—Mime, skated by Senior StarSkater Heidi Mattice.
The show began in Italy with “a lovely folk dancer” followed by pizza at a sidewalk café in Rome, Tuscan vineyards, Venetian gondoliers “singing beautiful Italian songs”, and more. They travelled to Spain, “where we witnessed brave matadors dodging the fierce bulls” before enjoying a fiesta, a ‘football’ game, and some fun in the sun on a beach in Ibiza. The next stop was France, where they attended a masquerade ball, hit the streets of Paris, “had a quick trip” to the famous Nice Flower Market where “the shop girls had the most colourful, fragrant flowers”, and returned to Paris to view Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night in the Louvre Museum.
HAGERSVILLE—CanSkate Flower Market girls from the south of France.
“We sat and stared at the swirls of blue and gold and immersed ourselves in its beauty,” said Mattice, noting the beauty continued outside with the “budding artistes”, a storytelling mime, and a ballet at the Paris Opera House. Finally, the group stopped in Monaco to hit the casino, which Mattice said “is nothing like Las Vegas” as the croupiers showed off their skills dealing cards and spinning roulette wheels. Mattice added, “The stakes are high and everyone is dressed to the nines in Monte Carlo.” Following a successful “European Vacation” Carnival for the club, Mattice concluded, “It was certainly a trip of a lifetime!”
HAGERSVILLE—CanSkate Gondoliers of Venice floated down the canal.
HAGERSVILLE—This plane “travelled across the arena sky” every time the show travelled to a new country. The plane was made by a grandfather of three skaters, Peter VanDalen.
