MORE THAN ICE: It's CommunitY
In one of Maine's most rural counties, there's only one place kids can learn to skate, join a team, and find where they belong — and it's about to disappear unless we act.
Capital Campaign Goal: $500,000
Why This Matters
Picture a kid lacing up skates for the first time, wobbling across the ice while a parent grips the boards and holds their breath. Picture a packed bleacher on a freezing Friday night, the whole town there, cheering the same team. That's the Piscataquis County Ice Arena — the only indoor rink for an hour in any direction, and for hundreds of families, it's not a building. It's where their kids found a team, a sport, and a place that's theirs.
That place is about to go dark. Without new leadership and real investment, the Arena closes — for good. Piscataquis Forward, a brand-new local nonprofit, has stepped up to take ownership and keep the ice running. But we can't do it alone. We need to raise $500,000, and we need to do it now.
A Community on the Rise
Dover-Foxcroft is having a moment. The Mill redevelopment. New businesses filling downtown storefronts. Young families choosing to put down roots here instead of somewhere else. The Ice Arena isn't separate from that momentum — it's part of what's driving it. It's created jobs. It's given kids somewhere to go on a Tuesday night. It's one of the reasons people look at this county and decide to stay.
Lose the rink, and it's not just a building that closes. It's one of the last places left that pulls this whole community into one room.
"A community without a gathering place loses more than convenience — it loses the connective tissue that holds people together."
One Rink, An Entire County
This isn't a facility for one team or one sport. Walk through the Arena on any given week and you'll find:
• Penquis Youth Hockey — kids across the region getting their first taste of a team and a season
• Ice Dance International — young skaters learning discipline and artistry through figure skating
• Learn to Skate USA — first-timers of every age stepping onto the ice for the first time
• Public skating sessions — open to anyone, one of the only free-form gathering spaces this county has left
• Curling, broomball, and drop-in hockey — low-barrier fun that welcomes casual skaters of all ages
• iTrain Hockey Camps — drawing young athletes from across the entire state
• School PE programming — an extension of the classroom for local students
• The Dover Cove Farmers' Market — proof this space is a community hub even off the ice
"Once a rural community loses its ice arena, it rarely gets it back. This is a now-or-never moment for Piscataquis County."
The Big Goal: Ice All Year
Right now the rink only runs part of the year. Making it a true four-season facility is the single biggest thing we can do to guarantee its future — summer hockey camps, year-round figure skating, more school programs, and steady rental income instead of a scramble every fall. It's the difference between hanging on and thriving.
SAVE THE ICE
We're your neighbors — people with backgrounds in civic leadership, economic development, and nonprofit governance who believe rural communities don't just survive, they thrive, when they fight for the spaces that bring them together. The Ice Arena is our first big project. We're committed to running it openly, affordably, and for the long haul.
"For a child growing up in Piscataquis County, the Ice Arena may be the only place they'll ever learn to skate, join a team, or perform for a crowd. With year-round ice, that chance multiplies — for every child, every season, every year."
Where Your Dollars Go
1. Keeping the lights on — operating funds to bridge the transition without a single program missing a beat
2. Fixing what's overdue — mechanical systems and ice-making equipment that can't wait any longer
3. Growing access — more programs, plus financial assistance so no local kid is kept off the ice by cost
4. Year-round ice — the investment that turns a seasonal rink into a true community anchor
Join Us
We're looking for partners at every level:
• Foundations that invest in rural communities and youth development
• Hockey and figure skating organizations that champion access to the sport
• State and federal rural development programs
• Local businesses who know a strong community is good business
• Individual donors who learned to skate somewhere just like this — and want to give that same chance to someone else
Naming rights and sponsorship opportunities are available. To talk partnership, reach out to John at john@piscataquisforward.org.
$500,000. Keep the ice. Keep the community. Keep the future.
This website uses cookies.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.