The Ice at Canalside is now open for the season, and droves of people took advantage of the sunshine and showed up to the rink on opening day. It opened at 10 a.m. Friday, and by noon, it was packed. 

Along with the skating, curling, and biking, there is now a new attraction: ice bumper cars. 

“We hope it becomes the new hot thing at Canalside,” Erin Marra said, the director of sales and marketing for Canalside.  

The bumper cars were introduced to the public for the first time at noon, Friday. And News 4’s Kelsey Anderson was one of the first people to try them out. 

She joined a family from Illinois and Iowa. 

“It was so much fun,” said Madeline Hutchinson, a visitor from Chicago. “You think like, it’s bumper cars, it’s going to be the same as if it was on ground, but just because it’s on ice makes it so much more fun.”

You control the cars with joysticks on either side of you. The cars are battery operated, and sit on special wheels. 

“There is a patented wheel that works really great on this ice surface to give you some traction, but still lets you slide a little bit,” Marra said. 

One of my cousins was going crazy, really crazy, so I got bumped into her more than five times,” said Ethan Marranta, a visitor from Iowa. 

Many said the cars went a good speed. 

“My dad had it out for me,” Hutchinson said. 

“Not everyone likes to skate, and it’s a fun way to just get on the ice, laugh and have a good time,” said Marra. 

Plenty of laughs were heard on the rink, Friday. 

If you want to try the cars out, it’s $7 for seven minutes. 

This weekend, the Ice at Canalside is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It’s $6 to get in, for adults, and $4 for kids. Skate rentals are $5. 

For more information on prices and times, click here.