The Snoqualmie Winter Magic Celebration is back on for 2015 and this time it will feature a 60×60 synthetic ice rink, double the size of the rink used last year.

In a meeting on Oct. 26, the Snoqualmie City Council approved $55,000 for this year’s Winter Magic event, with the larger synthetic ice skating rink. A larger rink was chosen this year in order to allow more people, including teens and adults, to participate in skating.

Lizzy Billington, events and economic development consultant, said the majority of that cost goes to the rink and the remainder is for the operation costs.

“It’s roughly $42,000 (for the rink and freight) and the (remaining $13,000) is fencing, tents, and operation staffing,” Billington said.

Last year the city rented a synthetic rink for the event, this year they purchased it. Billington said the city made the purchase because this event is going to become annual and purchasing the rink now would be more cost effective than renting in the long run.

The planned locations for the rink are on King Street next to Railroad Park in Snoqualmie and at the Snoqualmie Ridge Amphitheater. The rink is made of rearrangeable tiles that can be put together in different shapes.

“It’s actually like a jigsaw puzzle where we can reshape it,” Billington said. “For the street it will be 30×120.”

Because the rink is synthetic, it needs to be treated every couple of days with a synthetic spray that creates a better surface for skating. Billington said the rink needs to be cleaned before the synthetic substance is sprayed onto the surface.

In 2014, the rink was open for 90 hours and saw about 2,000 participants. With a significantly larger rink and more experience in working with partners, the city expects this year’s Winter Magic event to be even bigger.

“Last year was the first time, now they have experience and know what to expect,” Billington said. “We can work with groups to get more demographics involved. Encompass, Rotary, the YMCA, we will have a wider reach this year.”

The rink will be on the King Street site Dec. 12 to Dec. 21. From there, it will move to the Snoqualmie Ridge Amphitheater until it is taken down on Jan. 2.

The grand opening will be 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12 at the city’s holiday tree lighting festival.