The Great Skate debuted in 2002 as a 24-hour ice skating marathon held at the outdoor Rosa Parks Circle ice rink in downtown Grand Rapids, with every Griffins player and coach skating for at least one hour around the clock with fans.

New for 2009, the seventh-annual event expands into a two-day Winterfest, kicking off on Saturday, Jan. 10 at noon with skating, winter sports demonstrations, games and activities as part of a celebration of winter in our city. Businesses and local organizations such as the John Ball Zoo, the Grand Rapids Children's Museum, Ice Sculptures Limited and Burton Snowboards will all take part in this family-friendly event, which is presented by Comcast.

The festival will conclude with the traditional Great Skate, which will start at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10  - immediately following the Griffins' game against Philadelphia at Van Andel Arena - and conclude at 10 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11.

Admission to the Great Skate Winterfest is free but donations are encouraged. All proceeds benefit the Griffins Youth Foundation.

Sponsorships are available by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 3027.

Click here for the Great Skate Winterfest flyer.

Griffins' team skating schedule:

10-11 p.m. Griff
11-Midnight: Justin Abdelkader and Darren Haydar
Midnight-1 a.m. (Sunday): Jonathan Ericsson and Jamie Tardif
1-2 a.m.: Garrett Stafford
2-4 a.m.: Assistant coach Jim Paek
4-5 a.m.: Jan Mursak
5-6 a.m.: Sergei Kolosov
6-7 a.m.: Head coach Curt Fraser
7-8 a.m.: Jakub Kindl
8-9 a.m.: Mattias Ritola
9-10 a.m.: Tom Galvin
10-11 a.m.: Ryan Oulahen
11-Noon: Jimmy Howard
Noon-1 p.m.: Evan McGrath
1-2 p.m.: Aaron Downey
2-3 p.m.: Darren Helm
3-4 p.m.: Francis Lemieux and Francis Pare
4-5 p.m.: Aaron Gagnon
5-6 p.m.: Ville Leino
6-7 p.m.: Jason Jozsa
7-8 p.m.: Cory Emmerton
8-9 p.m.: Daniel Larsson
9-10 p.m.: Logan Pyett
TBD: P.J. Atherton

** Times subject to change

The Great Skate debuted in 2002 as a 24-hour ice skating marathon held at the outdoor Rosa Parks Circle ice rink in downtown Grand Rapids, with every Griffins player and coach skating for at least one hour around the clock with fans.

New for 2009, the seventh-annual event expands into a two-day Winterfest, kicking off on Saturday, Jan. 10 at noon with skating, winter sports demonstrations, games and activities as part of a celebration of winter in our city. Businesses and local organizations such as the John Ball Zoo, the Grand Rapids Children's Museum, Ice Sculptures Limited and Burton Snowboards will all take part in this family-friendly event, which is presented by Comcast.

The festival will conclude with the traditional Great Skate, which will start at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10  - immediately following the Griffins' game against Philadelphia at Van Andel Arena - and conclude at 10 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11.

Admission to the Great Skate Winterfest is free but donations are encouraged. All proceeds benefit the Griffins Youth Foundation.

Sponsorships are available by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 3027.

Click here for the Great Skate Winterfest flyer.