Fun Stuff

Free ice skating is back at DEN Airport

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Now here’s a great, free airport amenity:

The Denver International Airport (DEN) ice skating rink is back for its fifth season.

The rink took a two-year pandemic pause. But it’s back. And from ow through January 1, 2023 passengers and airport visitors – even visitors from other planets – are invited to ice-skate for free on the outdoor plaza between the DEN terminal and the Westin Hotel.

The DEN ice-skating rink is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., weather permitting.

The skate shop offers free ice skate “rentals” in multiple sizes and is located inside the Westin hotel on the west side near Tivoli Restaurant and Brewery.

Refreshments and holiday treats are available for purchase in the skate shop and, for those who just want to hang out, there’s outdoor lounge seating.

The ice rink is located pre-security and is just steps from RTD’s A-Line commuter rail station at DEN, or a short walk from the airport parking garages.

Let’s make this Airport Amenity of the Week!

ATL to Wakanda + MKE Coat Check + PDX Carpet

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Need to fly to Wakanda?

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the sequel to the super successful “Black Panther” movie, landed in movie theaters over the weekend.

And Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) got into the spirit by announcing the return of direct international flights to Wakanda.

“This nonstop service on Flight CHBZ will depart from the Manyard H. Jackston International Terminal from Gate F8 at 7:30 p.m,” the airport said in a statement,” adding that concessions were going to be serving “Wakandan-inspired dishes pre-flight.”

That flight number, CHBZ, was unusual. But it was a nod to the late Chadwick Bosman, the actor who played film protagonist King T’Challa.

This isn’t the first time ATL got into the Wakanda spirit. Back in 2018, when Black Panther debuted, the airport announced that Flight 1234 would be heading to Wakanda as well.

Coat Check Service Returns to MKE Airport

Courtesy MKE Airport

Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) has brought back one of the season’s best amenities: coat check service.

The service is available inside MKE’s Summerfest Marketplace, which is located presecurity in the Airport’s concession mall.

Passengers heading to destinations where the weather promises to be warm can check coats, gloves, and other cold weather gear and travel lighter. When they return, their coats will be warm and waiting for them.

The service is available seven days a week, and is open through the last flight of each day from now until April 1.

This is the fourth year the service is being offered and the cost remains a reasonable $2 per day, with a maximum of $10 per trip.

PDX Carpet Gets Sporty

Courtesy Portland Trailblazers

The iconic carpet pattern that once graced the terminal floors of Portland International Airport (PDX) lives on. And on.

The latest tribute to the flooring design comes from none other than city’s professional baskeball team, the Portland Trailblazers.

They team’s new City Edition Uniform bears a teal sash that is an homage to the PDX Carpet pattern that represented the view of the North and South runways as seen overhead by air traffic controllers. The carpet gained cult status in the 1990s and was replaced in 2015. (But it’s coming back...)

Fun photo op at SFO Airport: Castro Theatre

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The “SFO Celebrates” program has been running at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) since April.

The entertainment and engagement series brings a taste of the city’s diverse culture and neighborhoods into the terminals with live music, dance, arts & crafts, and demonstrations.

We snapped this fun photo during SFO’s Cherry Blossom Festival in April.


 
This month, SFO Celebrates Pride in the Harvey Milk Terminal 1 – the first terminal in the world named for a LGBTQ+ leader – with a photo opp and stage based on the iconic Castro Theatre.

Located post-security across from the iStore, this month’s Pride events feature live entertainment on Thursdays and Fridays between 11 am – 3 pm. Passengers may snap selfies with a version of the iconic Castro Theatre backdrop, enjoy live music, meet the Wag Brigade stress relief animals, and more.

Travelers can also celebrate Pride in other spots in the SFO Terminals.


Denver Int’l Airport’s open-air plaza reactivated

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Here’s a great sign that airports are coming back to life just in time for summer travel.

Denver International Airport (DEN) is reactivating the open-air public plaza between the main Jeppesen Terminal and the Westin Hotel.

Over the years, the plaza has hosted everything from outdoor movies and skating rinks to a beer garden, a concert space, and a miniature golf course.

The pandemic put a halt to that. But now the plaza is once again being used to offer a relaxing outdoor space where travelers and locals can get some fresh air and relax before, after, or between flights.

As we head into the busy travel season, DEN has once again turned the plaza into an outdoor oasis offering lounge seating, grass-like turf, native plants, and trees.

Entertainment options include live jazz performances, cornhole, and, soon, free miniature golf.

On select Fridays from 3-6 pm, the Jazz on the Park series will present a variety of local jazz bands in the plaza. Here’s the schedule:

·       June 3, Danny Showers Trio

·       June 17, Tenia Nelson Trio

·       July 1, Danny Showers Band- “A Salute to America”

·       July 15, Tenia Nelson

·       Aug. 12, Danny Showers Trio

·       Aug. 26, Paul Trunko and Steff Kull

A free nine-hole miniature golf course will open daily from June 17 through July 17. The hours will be from 10 am to 7 pm.

No question about it, this is definitely the Airport Amenity of the Week.

(Old) Airport Terminal or Skateboard Video Game?

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We were delighted when celebrity skateboarders and skateboard crews from across the country rolled into the old terminal facilities – and even onto the tarmac – at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) for Red Bull’s second Terminal Takeover.

It’s a creative use of the empty space. And, along with film shoots, a good way for the airport to earn income from the space while plans formalize for full-time, long-term use of the building.

Jake Wooten performs a backside 360 at Red Bull Terminal Takeover

Now, some of the videos from the skateboard take-over are being shared.

And it turns out that in addition to the crew competitions, the old airport terminal was also the backdrop for a real-life video game.