My Son Joel's Performance in Disney On Ice Frozen in Long Beach, California is at our family's 2nd home!

Below is an essay my son Joel wrote about our family's connection to Long Beach, California.  His tour with Disney On Ice Frozen just was in his hometown of Colorado Springs in March of 2018, but now from 4/19--22/18 the show is performing in Long Beach which is our family's second home!

 

Family and Friends came to see Joel perform in Disney On Ice Frozen in Long Beach, California 4-19-18

In the late 1920s, my grandfather's family settled in Long Beach. 

The Schneiders were businessman and Maxwell's Jewelers was a landmark in downtown Long Beach.   Mark Schneider Jewelers is still prominent in Long Beach.  

My grandfather and cousins are graduates of Wilson High School in Long Beach and my father and aunts and uncles and cousins are graduates of Millikan high school in Long Beach.

My grandfather (on my mother's side) took a bus every week from Long Beach to Iceland in Paramount to ice skate in the late 1930s and early 1940s and he proposed to my grandmother at that ice rink!

My father's parents met at a roller rink in downtown Long Beach in the 1940s!  During World War Two, my grandmother and great-aunts worked for the war effort in Long Beach as "Rosie the Riveters" at Douglas Aircraft.  My father's father, was an engineer at Douglas Aircraft for over 50 years. 

My father was born in Long Beach and my parents met on a youth trip for Long Beach youth that went to Catalina Island during Labor Day Weekend 1978.  My dad not only attended elementary school, junior high school, and high school in Long Beach, but he is also a graduate of Long Beach City College and California State University at Long Beach.

My mother completed a teaching credential at Long Beach State.

My dad worked at the Veterans Hospital in Long Beach.

My grandfather's uncle was one of the founders of Temple Israel in Long Beach and the Long Beach Jewish Community Center.

My aunt and cousins live in the house my great-grandparents purchased in Belmont Shore in Long Beach in the 1930s and my cousins grew up in Long Beach in that house!  Now my first cousin's children live in the house and attend school in Long Beach.  By the way, they are going to see the show on April 19th!

My family owns a vacation home in Belmont Shore and spends considerable time in Long Beach.  I've vacationed in Long Beach at least once a year since I was a baby.

Anyway, I have a strong connection to Long Beach and am excited about performing in Disney On Ice Frozen in the city that is my family's second home!

Joel on Live News! 3-23-18

This is the live interview that was done last Friday 3/23/18 at 5 am right after our car was totaled! I am so proud of my son Joel!

 

Roller Skating With Margar 3-24-18

My daughter Rebekah and I went roller skating last Saturday night with our friend Margar on Xfinity Sports Arena’s new wood floor!

Great Photos! 3-23-18

Disney On Ice Frozen at Broadmoor March 23--25, 2018

Come see my son Joel skate in Frozen! It is his 4th season traveling with this cast!

My son Joel and friends skate on canals in Manitoba, Canada

My son Joel and his friends got to skate on the canals in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada today 3/7/18! (I should have visited him there...ice skating on canals is "so JO ANN."

Rebekah In Skating Magazine Again! - March, 2018

My daughter Rebekah is on page 56 of this month’s Skating Magazine!

The article was slightly edited. Below is the entire article on Rebekah:

Rebekah Schneider-Farris of the Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado Springs, Colorado recently earned her sixth U.S. Figure Skating Gold Medal, the International Dance Test, when she passed the last of the ten International ice dances, the Austrian Waltz, on January 14, 2018. She is also a U.S. Figure Skating gold medalist in Senior Moves, Senior Solo Free Dance, Senior Pairs, Gold Dance, and Senior Free Dance. Very few of US Figure Skating's skaters earn that many gold medals.

“The last international ice dance became a challenge, and in total it took me three times to pass,” said Schneider-Farris.

This victory was especially sweet for her. After taking almost two years off from skating, Schneider-Farris began working with 2006 Olympic silver medalist Ben Agosto on the International Ice Dances in January of 2017. Then, in the summer of 2017, she spent time in Sun Valley, Idaho, working with two-time national bronze medalist Brent Bommentre. She ended up testing, and passing, nine of the International dances with Bommentre all at one test session in Sun Valley. That is a remarkable achievement in itself.

Schneider-Farris is a living, breathing example of what U.S. Figure Skating’s “Get Up” campaign is all about.

“In the end, it felt like I had gone full circle and back to the fundamental lessons of skating,” she said. “When you fall, you get up and try again.”

Rebekah also said the following quotes that were deleted from the article:

“I wanted to see what skating was like outside of competition, but I had no intention of pursuing anymore tests. Even though I was only skating for fun, when the opportunity to take international dances came along I figured why not give them a try. Part of me was really excited for a new challenge and so I was thrilled when my Coach (Brent Bommentre) suggested I take ten dances at the same time.”

“I passed nine out of ten dances, and although I was really proud of my accomplishments, I was still kind of sad that I hadn’t gotten them all. The last dance became the challenge, and in total it took me three tries to pass. In the end, it felt like I had gone full circle and back to the fundamental lessons of skating. When you fall, you get up and try again.”