”We have a lot of regulars, a lot of families or kids with parents,” Blum said. “A lot of middle school-age children come, too.”

…      

All three roller-skating venues host birthday parties, corporate parties and holiday events, and the first Friday of every month in Blue Lake is a theme event, where skaters are encouraged to dress up for skating. Theme nights so far have included “'80s Tunes” and a “Funky Disco Skate” where participants glided to the sounds of the 1970s under a mirrored disco ball and then watched the 1979 film, “Roller Boogie.”

At the Muni, Saturday nights are theme skating nights as well, and Blum said they expect this coming Saturday to be a popular evening.

”For Halloween, we had a glow-in-the-dark skate night and that was a big hit,” Blum said. “Dec. 15 is our 'Winter Wonderland' party and we'll decorate with snowflakes.”

Source:   Letts, Sharon.  "Roller-skating on the North Coast: Family fun."  Times-Standard, The (Eureka, CA).  9 Dec. 2007: Lifestyle.  Access World News.  NewsBank. University of Texas at San Antonio, John Peace Library. San Antonio, TX. 5 May 2009  

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Excerpt:   Longtime roller skaters who showed up at Dreamland on Saturday night said they had yet to find a new home since the Roxy and the Empire roller-skating rink in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, closed within a month of each other last year (a third rink, Skate Key in the Bronx, closed in 2006). Some make their way to rinks in New Jersey and on Long Island and Staten Island. Some skate on the weekends in Central Park, though several said they avoided outdoor skating because they did not like rolling on asphalt.

Yet no rink, the skaters said, has filled the void left by the Roxy and Empire.

“Empire was the love of our life,” said Yvonne Blugh, who showed up at Dreamland shortly past sunset on Saturday with her husband, Ian — the two met and fell in love at Empire. The night’s theme at Dreamland was “Purple Rain,” the 1984 movie starring Prince, and the Blughs dressed accordingly: she in a shiny black leather minidress and fishnet stockings, and he in a purple velour pantsuit with leopard-print flares…

It remains to be seen whether Lola Staar’s Dreamland will fill the void. Attendance has been erratic, possibly because people are unaware that the rink is there. Ms. Carlin is hoping to build enough momentum to open a permanent rink in Coney Island after Taconic Investment Properties, which holds the lease on the Childs Restaurant space, reoccupies the building. She also envisions finding a sponsor and laying a wooden floor in the rink.

The place might see some competition from a new rink being planned by Lezly Ziering, a 75-year-old roller-skating teacher who plans to start a skating night called “Crazy Legs” in September at an old gym in Bedford-Stuyvesant. But Mr. Ziering, who showed up at Dreamland on Saturday, said his skating nights would be on Wednesdays, and Ms. Carlin’s rink is open only on weekends.

Source:   http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/18/nyregion/18roller.html?pagewanted=print