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Grizzly Icebreaker Adventure bigger than ever at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Jessica Cabe
jcabe@postindependent.com
Coach Jim Bingamen has a talk with his Grizzly Hockey team. The annual Icebreaker Adventure will be held at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park for the first time this year.
Provided by T.K. Kwiatkowski |

IF YOU GO...

Who: Grizzly Hockey/Glenwood Springs Youth Hockey Association

What: Fourth annual Icebreaker Adventure

When: Noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday

Where: Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

How much: One nonperishable food item (to be donated to LIFT-UP) and $50 ticket, or $25 for dinner only for park season pass holders. Tickets include the tram, park rides, 4-D theater, dinner and music. Visit http://www.grizzlyhockey.com for tickets and more information.

For the fourth time, the Icebreaker Adventure is serving as Grizzly Hockey’s biggest fundraiser of the year. But for the first time, the event will be held at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in the hopes of drawing in a bigger crowd — and accommodating everyone.

“There were so many people at the community center that half of them had to eat outside,” said Icebreaker Chair Amy Roberts. “We’re trying to include a lot of the community members that have helped us to keep going strong in our valley.”

The Icebreaker will have more than ever to offer attendees, as it’s happening on the same day as Music on the Mountain. Icebreaker guests can arrive at noon for Grizzly fun throughout the day, and at 6 p.m., the Missing Link Band will play the last Music on the Mountain concert of the season.



Nancy Heard, general manager of the park, said she and owner Steve Beckley were excited to say yes when T.K. Kwiatkowski, director of Glenwood Springs Youth Hockey, asked if the Icebreaker could be held there.

“We’re big hockey fans,” Heard said. “We see this as a community park, and this is a great community event. Whether it’s hockey or any other sport, the Beckleys have been really supportive.”



The Icebreaker is also piggybacking on LIFT-UP’s 1,000 can drive by requiring all attendees to donate one nonperishable food item in order to ride the tram up to the park.

Festivities at the Icebreaker include a silent auction from 2 to 7 p.m. featuring more than 50 items, like facials, oil changes, hotel stays, skis, hockey sticks, gift baskets, pasta baskets, alcoholic beverages and more. There will also be a dinner from 4 to 5 p.m. and raffle tickets sold for the upcoming Black Tie Vaudeville event in November.

All money raised from the Icebreaker will go toward Grizzly Hockey’s general fund with the main goal of keeping costs down for players to enroll. The goal this year is to raise $10,000.

“We have the lowest registration fees in the entire region, from Grand Junction to Aspen and Vail,” said Kwiatkowski.

But even so, hockey is not a cheap sport. Registration can cost anywhere from $225 to $1,200, depending on the level and age of the participant. The money raised from the Icebreaker will be allocated into scholarships for kids who may not be able to afford those fees.

“I think it’s a great sport,” Kwiatkowski said. “And the hockey family is a very tight-knit group. They start from such a young age and continue all the way through high school.”

Roberts, whose son has played Grizzly Hockey for three years, said she has never been in a sport family as close and special as this one. She said the Icebreaker is not only an opportunity for the community to support the players through fundraising, but it’s an opportunity to meet the hockey family and see if it’s something one would want to be a part of.

“The fundraiser is called the Icebreaker because it’s a way to break the ice, meet new people and share hockey with the community,” she said.

But this year more than ever, the Icebreaker is also just a fun event to attend, even if you’re not too interested in hockey.

“Just come out and have fun with us,” Roberts said.


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