Snoopy's Ice Skating Show

We returned to the Charles Schulz campus to be entertained and also to learn a little more about Sparky.

As most fans know, Mr. Schulz loved ice skating and hockey. This life-long love inspired many Peanuts strips featuring the characters on skates including Snoopy as the famous "Joe Cool" as a figure skater. Interestingly, this led Charles to build the Redwood Empire Ice Arena (Snoopy's Home Ice) in Santa Rosa, a real-life rink where he hosted tournaments and played hockey himself, making skating a central part of Peanuts lore and his personal life.

Opened in 1969, the Arena was known for more than recreational skating sessions. In its early years, it also became known for a myriad of personal appearances by stars such as Bob Newhart, Liberace, Carl Reiner, Ann Murray, Seiji Ozawa with the San Francisco Symphony, and Victor Borge.

Later, in the mid-1980s and 1990s, the Arena was celebrated for its lush professional skating shows, starring famous skaters such as Richard Dwyer, Kristi Yamaguchi, Scott Hamilton, and Peggy Fleming.

I was there for my first, and certainly not my last, fantastic outdoor ice skating show- Merry and Bright.

"Join us in the beautiful courtyard at the famous Snoopy's Home Ice rink for a spectacular Holiday variety show featuring professional figure skaters, dancers and a special guest appearance from the world's most famous Beagle, Snoopy."

My younger son's Mother-in-law took our two shared grandchildren to the event together, scoring front row seats for all the magic.

Everyone loved the Zamboni. Charlie Brown was right when he said, "There are three things in life that people like to stare at: a flowing stream, a crackling fire, and a Zamboni clearing the ice."