Skate crew draws crowd for fun in the sun
With the smell of hot dogs in the warm summer air and the sounds of live music, Memorial Park was alive with people eating with family, lounging in the shade while listening to live music and many showing off their impressive skateboard skills in the sun.
The event was put together by a band of skaters looking to give the skate park — and skaters at large — a less rowdy name. They call themselves the Susanville Memorial Skate Park Crew.
At the beginning of a group’s three-hour skate workshop, the park’s skate park area left no parking space bare.
Not all participants were there to skate however. Some were there to show support of the park’s turn-around, some for the food and others to enjoy the showing of talent.
Police and fire department vehicles were very much present during the event, as was the fact that it was a tobacco free event.
From the young to the young at heart, attendees were given the chance to take lessons from more experienced skaters. Others were welcome to watch and support the group’s cause.
Those either just realizing their love of skating (or warming up to the idea) were taken under the wings of those within the host group.
The event was put on with an all-volunteer crew, was sponsored by the Adult and Teen Challenge and the City of Susanville. It featured booths from Lassen Family Services, Lassen County Public Health, the Lassen County Sheriffs office, the Susanville Police Department and the Susanville Fire Department.
Susanville City Councilmembers Brian Moore and Mendy Schuster were both in attendance and expressed their enthusiastic and full support for the group’s efforts.
The sound of a drone could be heard between songs, and many of the skaters had go-pros attached to their bodies so others could see what they were missing afterward.
The crew asked for signatures for their cause, which is to revamp and expand the skate park itself, in addition to turning around its reputation as well as expanding the kind of demographics utilizing the skate park.
The workshop’s atmosphere was energetic and comfortable. Attendees, with smiles on their faces, watched, captivated and in awe as skaters showed off spectacular stunts.
They also watched as those same skaters brushed themselves off after a blow to the concrete — there to pat their back and offer encouragement as they did so.
The camaraderie continued as at one point, a gigantic gust of wind ripped through the park, sending a force of dust, dirt and debris into the air and faces of attendees. The wind was so strong, it blew garbage cans, chairs and personal items with it.
Of course it didn’t stop them from continuing the party. People scurried to pick up the pieces after the wind died down, all went back to normal and the music continued.
