The community of Lampman recently installed a new ice plant for its hockey and curling rinks as the town gets set to host some major winter activities over the next couple months.

A new ice plant was put in last November with the old one needing to be replaced.

A provincial grant covered about 70 per cent of the project, and the town held a major fundraiser last fall to cover the remaining costs.

The plant will serve both the hockey and curling rinks, which are inside the same building.

“The big thing is to try to be more energy efficient, try to save on power costs,” said Lampman Recreation Director Brittany Sutherland. “It definitely is more efficient in the cold, cold weather.”

“It’ll allow us to have a rink for most of my lifetime…it’ll be for many many years to come, for people to enjoy it now and in the future. And we’ll hopefully grow our numbers and have a sustainable facility to offer,” Sutherland said, adding that they get quite a few out of town rentals as well, including from Estevan.

The new project was completed just in time for a couple major events. The annual Hockey Day in Lampman is this Saturday, with games going on all day at the rink.

“Lots of hockey. You don’t want to miss it…it’s an event you want to come to,” Sutherland said.

And later this winter, the town will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Lampman Curling Club with a major bonspiel from March 29 to April 2.

“They’re kind of making it a huge event. There’s going to be some good curling, lots of fun, some games,” Sutherland said, adding they’re hoping for 64 teams and eight sheets of ice as the hockey rink will be transformed into curling ice. “It’ll be neat to see some of the curlers that are in their 80’s and 90’s.”

“We’re excited. We had a late start to the season, but it feels like we finally have our feet on the ground running.”