Barb Insley McBride so kindly chatted with us one morning at the Kerrisdale Seniors Centre. She was involved with the Kerrisdale Figure Skating Club and quite a skater...

"That's called the stag jump, that was my signature jump, it wasn't difficult for me although I am glad someone took a picture of it, there's proof!"

Here is Barb, age 10, playing the 'boy' part in the Carnival

Alan has seen many bands in Vancouver over the years, and he is a huge fan of The Clash - he so kindly talked to us about The Clash concert he attended at Kerrisdale Arena in 1982:

" I don't remember the set list, I remember they had camouflaged netting all over the stage because it was the COMBAT ROCK tour...."

We talked to Sylvia over the phone about an event that lasted over 40 years at the Kerrisdale Arena...

"It was really about community, it was completely volunteer run and in fact it gave me the inspiration for my volunteerism that continues to be an important part of my life!"

"Overwhelmed they came to see us, in Kerrisdale!"

We received this email:

I only attended one event at Kerrisdale Arena and that was in the early '80's to see the Australian band, Split Enz. It was a great concert and I loved the venue because it felt 'raw' and somewhat intimate compared to a more traditional venue.

Cheers, Dee

Monty sent this email.

The arena opened when I was about 9 years old.  My Grandfather lived in an apartment block on the corner of 43rd & West Blvd and he bought me my first skates.  

This photo - taken in 1950 - shows The new Arena and Point Grey School. (vintage air photos)

I loved public skating, I never really played hockey. I spent my Sunday mornings (instead of going to Sunday School at Ryerson where my Mom had sent me) watching Beer League Hockey and talking my way into helping clean the ice as none of the older Rink Rats* would show up on Sundays. Finally when I was 12, I convinced the ice maintenance guy, George Tough, (he became a Vancouver city cop) that I could be a "professional" paid Rink Rat for 25 cents per scrape (four guys were paid 25 cents per scrape or the whole dollar if only one guy was there - like on Sunday mornings ). There were 8 Rink Rats and the first 4 to sign in were paid. My sign in was 'Cordink' and I once got two pay envelopes, one for Monty and one for Cordink! We were all just school kids who loved to skate and hang around the Arena. After skating many of us would head to The Avenue Grill! I got to watch and clean the ice for the Kerrisdale Monarchs Hockey team (vs Vernon and Penticton).

Because we were Arena staff, the door man would just let us into events. We had our own change room at the Arena so we could just stand at the top of the seats and look important. I saw Bill Haley and some time later we saw Little Richard! Both times was after the ice was out and we helped set up rows of chairs on the floor. Tickets were sold for stand seats and floor seats. Bill Haley played on a stage. Little Richard also performed on the stage but he moved up and down the centre floor isle as well. They both sang all their current popular songs of the day... they had quite a few! The shows were at 7pm and lasted for a good 90 minutes. Everyone in the audience was behaved.

Little Richard

I met many girls public skating and chatted up many a young figure skater as I was alway there during non school hours to clean their ice - special for patch**. I was a winter Rink Rat until I was 18 and when the Zamboni came along I copped*** public skating until I was 20. My association with the rink allowed me to get into Saturday morning Public Skating and when I was 22 and my first born was 2 he also learned to skate.

When I was 24 we moved to Kelowna and when I walked into their Memorial Arena (opened one year after the Kerrisdale Arena) it had the exact architectural plan as Kerrisdale: dressing room locations; concessions; and those big, steep entrance inclines to the top of the seating area.

Kerrisdale Arena's steep entrance incline.

I remember people like Mr Elliot Manager (he played rock and roll music during the Friday Night Public Skate) & Harry the engineer. Bruce Graham became the Ice Maintenance guy after George Tough. I remember the tractor and the planer**** - and my favourite job was holding the planer back on the corners in the middle of public skating breaks when I had an audience!
I owe my association with the arena to keeping me out of a lot of possible trouble on the streets of Kerrisdale during my teen years.

* In a time before the Zamboni, Rink Rats would hang around the Arena and clean the ice in between events (public skating, hockey, figure skating). A 'scraper' was pushed around the ice to clear the snow off and then the 'ice man' (arena employee) would hook up a hose with hot water to a large 'hot pad' and drag it - walking backwards - over the now snowless scraped ice.  A Rink Rat would pull the hose behind the pad to help the ice man. 

** Patch was when figure skaters were allotted a certain section of ice to practice their figures (for instance figure 8's). They needed 'new' ice in order to see their markings of their inside and outside edges - to see how they were doing. After an hour they would do their pirouettes.

***During public skating an adultish person would skate and patrol to keep the speedsters in check. Thus we were 'ice cops'. When the Zamboni eliminated Rink Rats in about 1959, I was 18 and pretty experienced with conduct on the ice, so I was paid for 2 more years at evening and Saturday public skating even though I now had a full time day job.

****The tractor pulled the planer which was used when heavy use was cutting up the ice (public skating and senior hockey). The planer had a sharp razor type blade that trimmed the ice. The planer had to be held back (braked) as the tractor entered each turn as it went around the ice surface. A good skater Rink Rat would do this braking job, then after that was done, that Rink Rat would join the 3 others to clear the snow off before the hot-pad was brought out. The Zamboni eliminated: Rink Rats, Tractors, Planers & Hot Pads. The Arena just needed one person: the Ice Man....BOO HOO!

We talked to Tom over the phone and he shared memories of hanging out in back of the Kerrisdale Arena around 1976.

"Vancouver had a small time sensibility at that time...."


Tom from Kerrisdale Arena on Vimeo.

"How well I remember those glorious days, waltzing on the elderly arm of Mr White, pairs with Dolena Stevenson.  Once I had a carnival role which began with me spinning about armed with two torches.  These had to be deposited at one of the exits while I set forth upon my solo.  But with the excitement and spotlights I turned the rink around in my head and went to the wrong exit where no one had the wherewithal to extinguish the torches.  I just left them and twirled away.  Someone may still be trying to put them out!"

Marcia Vale, second from left!

Ice Follies Program cover from 1952

Marcia Vale -  far left - in the Kerrisdale Ice Follies!

Marcia Vale and her partner in pairs skating Dolena Stevenson!

Some of Marcia's medals!

The trophies lined up in the sunlight outside Kerrisdale Arena!

Frank Zappa played at Kerrisdale Arena on August 25, 1968. 
Gary shared his memories with us.

"It wasn't just a concert it was an event!"

Sandra and Keith all decked out and on their way to Kerrisdale Arena!

Sandra attended Bill Hailey & His Comets with her brother Keith on June 27th, 1956. Jack Cullen's  Music Store sponsored the event and Sandra remembers the store along East Hastings somewhere. It was where they bought the tickets! Sandra can't exactly remember if she bought the tickets or if her mother bought them but remembers liking the music and having a good time.

Below are her memorabilia she donated to the Kerrisdale archives. Some great stuff!

The original ticket stubs! And the envelope they came in. (Notice the 'good tasting' advertisement and the cost of the tickets!)

The concert program! Sandra says $1.00 was a lot of money at the time!

This was the album that Bill Haley would be pulling songs from at the concert!

Shake, Rattle and Roll!

When I was in high school, I remember going into the Arena when it was empty with my friends and we would skateboard in the hockey change rooms  because the benches were good for grinding and sliding.

We would get kicked out eventually....

George Thorogood and the Destroyers album 'Bad to The Bone' was released less than a month before the epic Kerrisdale concert held on Sept 2, 1982

Ryan sent us this email:

"I was a teenager growing up in Powell River. I think it was a Labour Day Weekend show in the early 80's.

My older cousins and their friends in Burnaby took  me to the concert. I think I was easily one of the youngest people there -

I think I was going into grade 9 or 10. 

There were  a lot of bikers and to this day, I have not seen as much confiscated liquor as I saw that night for a venue that size. They had garbage cans by each door full of not just 12 ounce  mickeys  but 26ers ,  40's and 60 ounce bottles - you know the ones with handles.

We had our liquor in zip lock bags in our crotches so we got ours in fine.

I think No Particular Place to Go (Chuck Berry) was the last song of the third encore. Towards the end of the show (I was standing and  watching from the floor) ,  someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around expecting a biker telling me to move so his ol’ lady could see. Nope it was 3 older guys I knew from the area in Powell River where I lived.

They had been at Jacks Hanging Tree (now the Roxy) before heading to the concert.

One of the best shows I have ever seen."

"When I was grade 4 I went on a field trip to Kerrisdale ice rink and I was skating with a friend who didn't know how to skate.

My friend said that she wanted help, so I went and got my mom but then my friend said that she didn't need her after all and so I had to tell my mom to go...

it was an awkward moment."

"My history of Kerrisdale Arena started when I was 8 or 9 coming here to the Play Palace and I also remember my days of not being able to skate and just having to hold on for my dear life, hoping not to slip....eventually I did learn how to skate! "

Cindy called us from Bella Bella, BC to share her story about Kerrisdale Arena!

"I went to the school next to the Arena, Point Grey Secondary, and for some weird reason, one of the grad pranks during the 80's was they would put up car tires on the roof and write 'GRAD' and whatever the graduating year was...."

"When I was a child, from the ages of 8-12, I took figure skating [at the Arena], and as

a teenager I loved to go on the Friday nights and skate, that was a big deal, they had lots of great music..it was a great way to meet boys!

Later, I took my daughter to figure skating too, which she hated, but my son loved skating and he played on the hockey teams.

My friends and neighbours all took there kids to the arena so the mothers would all sit together and talk while the kids were getting their figure skating lessons. It was nice."

Sandra from Kerrisdale Arena on Vimeo.

"I have skated here [at Kerrisdale Arena] five or six times! My Dad has taken me here twice, but he doesn't skate - he takes pictures of me. One time I was skating and some people where in a long train. They crashed into me and made me fall. That was the only time I fell on the ice!"

Rocking and rolling through November 2016 to June 2017 artists Lisa g Nielsen and Rene Cherrie will fuse sound and image exploring the exciting history of Kerrisdale Arena.

Community members will be invited to collaborate with stories, vision, music, art and more to create an immersive video and sound installation within the Arena itself.  

Find Rene and Lisa creating real time in the Arena’s 'living room' or in their mobile projection/sound studio at other locations in the community. Connect with and track the progress on this website!