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| By Courtney Llewellyn Reminder Assistant Editor EAST LONGMEADOW Are you ready to ollie, grab some frontside air and kickflip? The East Longmeadow Skate Park Organization (ELSPO) is ready to show you how. ELSPO has planned a skateboarding demonstration for Aug. 4 from 1 - 4 p.m. at the high school parking lot for anyone interested in helping the group raise funds for a new skate park in town. The demo will take place in the student parking lot at East Longmeadow High School, complete with ramps and rails. Both local and professional skateboarders will be riding. Boarders from Theory Skateboarding will be showing off at the demo as well as supporting the future skate park. Theory boarder profiles are available for viewing online at www.theoryskateboarding.com. In addition to Theory's demo, the day will include a manual competition between local boarders as well as raffles and prizes for those in attendance. Deanne Daggett, a founder of ELSPO, is excited about what the demo could mean for her organization. "We have a number of grants and donations in the works to help fund this project," she said. "Now we just need to gain the attention of the people in town." ELSPO is working with the town to renovate a long-closed skate park inside the Pine Knoll recreation area. They want to finish the renovations as early as next year. "The skate park in Northampton is great, but it took almost 10 years to build it," Daggett said. "Kids here need a skate park now." The Aug. 4 demo is the official kickoff of ELSPO's fundraising efforts for the new park. "We want to get the whole community involved in this. Selectman James Driscoll has already shown his support of the project," Daggett said. "What we need now are some donations for things we need for the park fencing, paving, lighting, lumber, trash barrels, concrete, labor and volunteers." School Superintendent Edward W. Costa II has also shown support by donating the high school parking lot for skateboarding at least for one weekend. "I am sure the School Committee will waive their school grounds policy which prohibits skateboards so that the committee will join the Board of Selectmen in allowing this one weekend of skateboard demonstrations," he wrote in a letter to the Board of Selectmen July 10. ELSPO hopes to have enough funds for paving to commence at the skate park by late April or May of next year. For more information, please visit www.elspo.org. |