Grab your black skates, it's time for Goths on Ice!

Goths and ice go together like black eyeliner and nail polish — ice being cold, and Goths having a special affinity for all things devoid of warmth.

Goths and ice skating, on the other hand? Maybe not so much.

Eilis Peale wants to change that. So at this weekend's Convergence 14, a convention of online Goths from around the globe, Peale will do what she does at each Convergence — lead a group of Goths in bustle gowns and black velvet on an ice-skating field trip.

"We're not going to be out there in our little sparkly outfits or anything like that," said Peale, of Orange County, Calif. "I think it's a mix of really good mischief, enjoying irony and just wanting to keep it fun."

Goths on Ice! isn't an official part of Convergence, which is expected to draw about 200 Goths to Ybor City this weekend (see box, below right). But it's become a quirky enough little side event that Convergence organizers have started promoting it alongside pub crawls, Goth fashion shows and a trip to the Dali Museum.

Last year, about a dozen Goths crashed a mall skating rink in Portland, Ore. In 2003, a group went ice skating in Las Vegas. This year, the Goths will hit the Ice Sports Forum, 10222 Elizabeth Place in Brandon, from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. Anyone can come; admission to the rink is $12.29, which includes a skate rental.

Peale, a 34-year-old junior high school teacher who's a fan of U2, Peter Murphy and the Edwardian fashions of the '20s and '30s, sees the excursions as a way for friends to explore an unexpected hobby together — as well as a way to keep her figure skating skills in top shape.

"I think that a lot of people look at Goths and think, 'Oh, it's the spooky kids with bad makeup,' or they think of emo kids, which I think is funny," she said. "But they don't realize that there's really this fun side, where people really appreciate the irony. Here's a bunch of people all in black going to Disneyland and riding Small World, or here's a bunch of Goths who look really scary and supposedly listen to this crazy music, and they're skating on ice."

Goths on Ice! isn't the only decidedly non-Goth event at Convergence. At a karaoke contest Friday night, Peale and a friend plan to sing along to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. And in Vegas, the Goths held a hot tub party every night.

"It looked like Frankie and Annette gone wrong," Peale said. "It wasn't really something that was, 'Oooh, it's so Gothic,' but it was so much fun. And that's kind of the whole point of Convergence."