Secrets to a Happy Toronto Winter: #13. The sassiest dance parties are on ice

Secrets to a Happy Toronto Winter: #13. The sassiest dance parties are on ice

Secrets to a Happy Toronto Winter: #13. The sassiest dance parties are on ice
(Image: Brian Medina)

There are bigger rinks and smoother rinks and more famous rinks, like Nathan Phillips Square, where at some point every Torontonian must pose for a photo under the arches, but the Natrel Rink at Harbourfront is our favourite because it’s a full-on party. Eight Saturday nights in a row, from January 3 onward, the city’s best DJs take over the sound system and the rink becomes an open-air nightclub. To the south is the pitch-black lake, to the north the ­twinkling lights of the downtown’s towers. People dress up in vintage mink stoles and crazy-coloured tights and open puffy coats, bouncing, boogying and shimmying as their skating prowess allows, and taking breaks at one of the flaming fire pits around the rink’s perimeter. Free ($8 for skate rental). 235 Queens Quay W., harbourfrontcentre.com.