SISTER LAKES — Sunday night, owners of a popular skating rink in Sister Lakes are hoping to see their building full with people zooming past on eight wheels. Not only would it produce a great image, but it could help preserve the rink itself.

Ramona Roller Rink, 93103 County Road 690, Dowagiac, will be hosting a Raise the Roof Fundraiser Skate from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the event will be by donation, which will include a sake rental. There will also be $1 rounds of mini golf and $1 scoops of ice cream. Special event T-shirts, which will feature a vintage photo of the building, will be $20 for sizes youth extra small to adult extra-large, and $25 by special order for sizes two extra-large to four extra-large.

Money raised from the event will go toward repairs and renovations necessary to keep the 90-year-old rink open, including roof work. Earlier this month, Harold and Michele Schaus, who have owned the rink for 15 years, made a plea to the public to help them with costs, hoping to raise the money needed for the repairs through a GoFundMe Champaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise $150,000, one half of the total cost of repairs. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the campaign had raised $1,885.

“Our goal is to keep the rink running for generations to come,” Michele said. “This has been here for 90 years. We want to keep it here. … Everything can help.”

The rink, which at one point was a dance hall, is one of Sister Lakes’ oldest businesses. Harold, who worked at the rink in his younger years before buying it, said he constantly has people coming in to talk about how they use to skate at the rink when they were children.

“We have people who came here as kids that are now coming here with their kids and even their grandkids,” he said. “The rink clearly means a lot to a lot of people, so we hope they support it.”

Schaus said the public should turn out for the fundraiser skate not only due to the long history and nostalgia attached to the rink, but also because they believe the rink is one of the few children-focused places in greater Dowagiac.

“Children need something positive to do, and we provide that,” Michele said. “We want to keep providing that, because we are in Sister Lakes. It is more family and resort, which is why we have thrived here. … We don’t [run the rink] for money. We do it for the kids. We want to continue to be here for the kids.”

Harold said he wants the public to enjoy the fundraiser skate, adding that the timing of the skate was fortunate, as hopefully it will bring in a multitude of people, both local and otherwise, to the rink for some Labor Day weekend fun.

“It will give both the people who are out of town and, of course, the people who live here, the chance to come out,” he said. “There are not many places out here like this anymore. So many skating rinks have closed. We think it is worth preserving.”