Chancy: Fans hope to ice visit with Hilary

The swish of skates and the swirl of tiny skating skirts in the rink echoed the excited energy in the lobby of the Charlottesville Ice Park Saturday, July 23. About 20 happy little girls and their moms and dads waited with high hopes and wide eyes at the drawing for two front-row tickets to see teen idol Hilary Duff in Richmond.

One mom admitted that entering the contest had occurred to her daughter and her friend only as they passed by the Ice Park's neon sign announcing the drawing. Other eager youngsters had come especially for the chance to see their hero in person.

The excitement peaked at 5 o'clock when Hook rep Jamie Price pulled Mary Fitzgerald's name from the big box. Nineteen-year-old Fitzgerald– who was just as eager as pre-teens to have a chance to see the teeny bopping star of Lizzie McGuire and other films– didn't seem inclined to console the disappointed little girls around her.

"I was hoping I'd win," she said. "I'm obsessed with Hilary Duff."

Catalina Chernavvsky-Sequeira and Elizabeth Ganey-Kerekes hope they win the tickets to see Hilary.

Bill Field cuddles with daughter Lauren as they wait for the drawing.

Morgan Sparks files her entry in the Hook  box.

Samantha Rougeau, Heather Royston, and Dominic Brown, the ever helpful Ice Park staff, were in charge of crowd control at the drawing.

Samantha Ehlers swears she was not packing the entry box!

The happy winner!