On Thursday 12 December, London City Island, the Capital’s newest cultural destination, will unveil City Island Ice Rink, bringing Christmas magic to the recently opened Hopewell Square with its first open-air winter ice-skating rink, running from 12 to 22 December. The open-air, 45-person ice skating rink will host 45-minute sessions and will be open into the evening, offering skating under the glistening lights of City Island. Parents and carers can relax while their little ones take to the ice supported by fun penguin skating aids and with no ice rink at Canary Wharf this year, City Island Ice Rink will provide East London with festive but affordable Christmas skating fun.
Hopewell Square will capture the seasons’ spirit with a four-day artisan Christmas market, from 12-15 December. Festive tipis will showcase a sumptuous selection of locally sourced food, drink and gifts from some of the Capital’s finest vendors, and visitors will be able to purchase their Christmas trees (pre-ordered or taken away on the day). Food vendor highlights include festive street menus from island residents Central Market Group and Espresso Room, burgers, fry-up classics and Christmas bratwurst sausage from Original Fry Up Material, cheese selections from The Urban Cheese Maker and plenty of sweet treats.
Drink vendor highlights include festive tastings hosted by Wanderlust Wine and Real Kombucha will be providing a selection on non-alcoholic brews and tastings. An exciting range of Christmas gifts will be available to purchase, including ethical chocolates by Tosier Chocolatemaker, hand-knitted children’s clothes by Milk and Black, luxury skin care items by Soapsmith and JoJi Natural, jewellery from Chalk Jewellery, and Christmas bouquets and wreaths from Henrietta Hinkling.
City Island will also host a series of craft-led workshops and festive experiences between Thursday 12 December – Sunday 15th December. The iconic English National Ballet, who took up permanent residence here in September, will mark the opening of London’s newest ice rink with a Nutcracker themed musical performance from their Philharmonic orchestra, as well as offering Nutcracker themed pre-ice-skating dance warm-ups during December, led by English National Ballet dance artists.
