The holiday season is upon us, starting with Thanksgiving just around the corner. It’s a time of celebration, but it’s also important to remember those who are less fortunate than us.

With that in mind, here are a few ways to give back in North Tonawanda this holiday season:

• Work with a Tonawanda food pantry. Food pantries need assistance all year long, and you can help by organizing a food drive or by volunteering in-person. Helping to feed the hungry is one of the best ways to give back in your community.
• Build a home for a family in need. Consider pitching in this holiday season by helping build a Habitat for Humanity house for a local family. This also makes a wonderful group activity for corporate groups looking for a way to give back.
• Volunteer at a nursing home. Retirement and nursing homes are often in need of volunteers to run events for their residents, read to them, or simply spend time visiting with them during the holidays.
• Hold a fundraiser for a local Tonawanda area charity! Rainbow Roller Rink is the perfect place to host your next fundraiser. Our fundraisers include supervised programmed activities, a light show, fully stocked concession and game room, and your choice of music. There’s also an option for a bar and access to our Bounce Zone! We’d be honored to help you raise money for a local Tonawanda organization that’s close to your heart.

For more information about scheduling a fundraiser in North Tonawanda, please contact us today at (716) 693-1100!

The school year is in full swing, and for many kids (not to mention parents and teachers) the daily grind can start to take a toll. That’s why it is important for everyone to make time for fun, exercise, and relaxation. This is especially important for kids. And that is why After School Skating is the perfect North Tonawanda after-school activity!

Rainbow Roller Rink is a great place to come for after-school fun in North Tonawanda. Kids can blow off steam skating or by visiting our Bounce Zone! Our Bounce Zone has lots of amazing bouncers, mazes, slides, and an obstacle course for kids to work off a little extra energy.

Exercise is a great stress-reliever, and skating is great exercise! Skating can easily get your heart rate up over 140 beats per minute. That means skating for an hour will burn up to 600 calories! Science also shows that skating increases your endorphins, which improves mood. Regular exercise also increases self-confidence and can help combat anxiety and depression. Taken together, all this means that regular after-school exercise can help children (and adults) gain a better sense of self, and puts you in better control of your emotions.

In addition to skating (or bouncing) off some pent-up energy, kids can also socialize and play some games while earning tickets in our Game Zone!

So make time for active fun with your child. From after school playdates to family fun nights at Rainbow Roller Rink, we can help to reduce stress and improve self-confidence for your kids!

Roller skating has a colorful past dating back hundreds of years! Check out these crazy roller skating facts to learn more about the amazing history of roller skating.

The First Recorded Roller Skate Inventor

The first recorded inventor of roller skates was John Merlin. Merlin planned to impress everyone by wearing a pair of his new skates to a fancy masquerade in the 1760s. His plan was to coast onto the floor while playing a violin. Unfortunately for Merlin, he was not very practiced, so instead of dazzling his fellow party-goers, he crashed into a large mirror and seriously injured himself.

The First Roller Skate Patent

Much later, in 1819, Monsieur Petitbled patented the first roller skate. The Petitbled skate was a huge improvement over Merlin’s design. Petitbled’s skate was actually an in-line skate made of wood and fastened with three leather straps. The wheels were made of ivory, wood, or metal. Unlike Merlin’s design, these skates could turn corners (something we take for granted today)!

Modern Skates

From 1743 through 1863, all skates were in-line skates. And then James Leonard Plimpton came along. In 1863, Plimpton patented the first four-wheeled skate. To capitalize on his invention, Plimpton converted part of his New York office into a roller skating floor and charged for the chance to skate around on his new skates! The idea was catching on, so in 1866 he expanded the idea by converting an area in a fancy hotel into the United States’ first public skating rink!

We’ve come a long way since the early days of roller skating! Now, hundreds of years later, you can enjoy roller skating in North Tonawanda. Make your plans to visit our skate center today!

It’s official: Halloween decor is in the stores, pumpkin spice lattes (and any other pumpkin treats you can think of) are out, and fall festivals are just around the corner. Check out these fantastic fall events for families in Tonawanda and the greater Buffalo, NY area:

Great Pumpkin Farm Fall Festival

The Great Pumpkin Farm Fall Festival is a great family-friendly fall event! Returning favorites include a fun corn maze, amusement rides, the spooky Boo Barn, their annual Cow Train, bouncing Jumping Pillows, an amazing magic show, and a fun Halloween Store. There will also be lots of great food like cider and pumpkin donuts. They will even have dinosaurs in the corn maze throughout the opening weekend! The festival will be held daily from 10:00 am to dusk from September 15th through October 31st.

Celebrate Halloween at the Buffalo Zoo

This fun Buffalo fall event offers after-hours access to animal exhibits and educational zookeeper talks. There will also be fun family activities like hayrides, inflatables, and free carousel rides. Plus, every child will receive a trick or treat bag to take around to the Treat Candy Stations! This Buffalo Halloween event will take place Saturday, October 13th and Sunday, October 14th.

Rainbow Roller Rink

Rain or shine, you can always count on Rainbow Roller Rink for family fun! In addition to skating, we also have fun races and games, music videos, a children’s bounce zone, an aggressive skate park, and an arcade! Make your plans for fall family fun today, and don’t forget to check out our special events calendar for year-round fun!

Parents, are you searching for a great birthday party venue in the North Tonawanda area? Rainbow Roller Rink is the place to be! Your child will have so much fun that this may just be a new birthday tradition! Take a look the details:

Roller Skating Parties

Roller skating birthday parties are one of the best ways to celebrate your child! Most everyone who has a birthday in the summer ends up throwing a pool party. While that’s fun, it can be repetitive.

So, why not mix up the ordinary routine with a roller skating birthday party?! Your child will love the social outlet it provides, our fun music and lights, everything that comes with our birthday party packages, and so much more. (And, YOU won’t have to worry about Mother Nature raining on your summer birthday party plans!)

Birthday Party Packages

Moms and dads, we have many affordable birthday party packages at Rainbow Roller Rink. You can choose from the Super Party Package (starts at $180), Teen Party Package (starts at $180), Combo Party Package (starts at $150), Deluxe Party Package (starts at $120), and the Private Party Bash (starts at $395). And, no matter what birthday party package you choose, you can make it a Glow Party for a reasonable price!

Please note that Rainbow Roller Rink has new summer hours starting in July. Parties are available:

• Tuesday-Thursday: 12pm – 2pm, 1pm – 3pm, or 2pm – 4pm
• Saturday: 12pm – 2pm, 2:30pm – 4:30pm, or 5pm – 7pm
• Sunday: 12pm – 2pm or 2:30pm – 4:30pm

Book your child’s summer birthday party at Rainbow Roller Rink, and watch the fun unfold!

Roller skating is an amazing hobby that has incredible benefits. To add to the fun, learn cool roller skating tricks! The following tricks are easy to learn and will definitely impress your friends at the rink:

Skating on Heels

For this awesome roller skating trick, you’ll want to perfect your balance first. Practice balancing on your heels. When you feel confident that you won’t fall, take strides to gain momentum. Then, continue skating in small circular motions to keep your momentum going.

Jumping in Skates

With some practice, you will be able to WOW your friends at Rainbow Roller Rink when you jump in your skates. First, take several powerful glides. When you’re ready, bend your knees and keep your feet close together. The next step is to jump straight up into the air. When you feel yourself returning to the ground, bend your knees again to help with the landing.

Moonwalking in Skates

Moonwalking in roller skates is one of the easiest roller skate tricks to learn (thanks to the toe stop). When you’re in your quad skates, apply one of your toe stops to the ground. With the other foot, push off the ground to propel yourself backward. Then, apply your toe stop on the roller skate that just went backward. Repeat these steps until you’re moonwalking. (Who knows – maybe with practice you’ll be as good as Michael Jackson!)

Practice makes perfect, and we know you want to practice these cool roller skating tricks. So, head to Rainbow Roller Rink for hours of endless fun with friends! We hope to see you soon.