Downtown Los Angeles sees its second ice rink of the season open this evening at L.A. Live. Who knew that the city was so starved for ice skating? There’s also another outdoor rink less than a mile away at Pershing Square.

The debut of the ice rink tonight is part of a larger event. There is also the lighting of a giant Christmas tree and 265,000 LED lights covering other trees, as well as performances by LeAnn Rimes, Shelia E. and the E Family. The Los Angeles Kings, who have won their past two games and who may send several players to the Winter Olympics in February, face off against the Ottawa Senators at 7:30 p.m. at Staples Center.

The 6 p.m. performances won’t be long but they will be free and could be a great way to kick off the holidays, if the locale is convenient. The Metro Blue Line Pico Station is a very short walk from L.A. Live — and if you show your Metro ticket, there’s a $1 discount on the skating. Of course, as Source writer Fred Camino told you last week, there are lots of other ice rinks around L.A. and if you like that sort of thing, you can take your skates, not your car, to several.