The 7th annual H-E-B Year of Joy® Holiday Ice Skating Party, the city’s only free ice-skating party for children from underserved communities, takes place 4 - 6 p.m. Tues., Dec. 13, at Green Mountain Energy Ice at Discovery Green ®, 1500 McKinney in Houston.

Some 150 children from Third Ward and surrounding areas will enjoy holiday fun on ice. This year, the children participating represent Hype Freedom School, Southside Community Center, MacGregor Elementary, Hartsfield Elementary and Be A Resource for Children, which supports children in foster care.

The event is being held in partnership with Discovery Green Conservancy. The ice rink, managed by Ice Rink Events, is generously opening an hour early and, along with the conservancy, is providing admission and skate rental for the children.

Houston skating coach Dayyanah Coleman, a Haitian native who started ice skating as an adult, will perform, along with Year of Joy Figure Skating Scholar John Esteban Catano Molina, who taught himself to skate by watching YouTube videos in his native Colombia.

Onstage entertainment includes dance performances by the Houston Urban Nutcracker and holiday tunes sung by Miss Houston ambassadors. Santa Claus, a volunteer with 100 Black Men of Houston, will join the fun.

Fox 26 Meteorologist Remeisha Shade, who also started ice skating as an adult, will serve as emcee. Mayor Sylvester Turner has been invited to visit the children.

The holiday event is sponsored by H-E-B. Also, alliantgroup, with a team of volunteers, will provide the children with holiday gift bags and STEM kits.

The Year of Joy Holiday Ice Skating Party was started in December 2016 by Houston Chronicle Culture Columnist Joy Sewing, who became Houston’s first African American figure-skating coach while in college. Year of Joy® is a 501c3 non-profit organization.