PORT ANGELES — History will almost repeat itself Saturday with a dedication and celebration at the Port Angeles Skate Park.
On Sept. 4, 2005, Nor’Wester Rotary members, dignitaries, community members and skateboard enthusiasts gathered for a ribbon-cutting to officially open the park at Erickson Playfield.
However, one piece of the park was never completed: a sign to recognize the many businesses and individuals who helped make the skate park a reality.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, nearly a decade after that grand opening, Nor’Wester Rotary will host a dedication ceremony, sign installation and free celebration at the Port Angeles Skate Park located across from Civic Field on Race Street.
Along with the festivities will be a professional skateboarding demonstration, a contest with a grand prize of a new snowboard and Tony Hawk Foundation merchandise giveaways.
Nor’Wester Rotary will unveil the sign recognizing the companies, civic organizations and individuals whose efforts made the facility possible.
“This will finish everything we intended to do,” said Steve Zenovic, a civil engineer and member of Nor’Wester Rotary, which spearheaded the effort to create the park with concrete bowls and ramps to replace an aging wooden skate park at Lincoln Park.
Zenovic said he visited the park Tuesday as part of the preparations for Saturday’s dedication and event.
“The place is in great shape,” he said.
He said the next project will probably be to replace the fence that encloses the park.
The initial construction of the park in 2005 cost $325,000, plus tens of thousands of dollars in donated services.
Zenovic and Doc Reiss oversaw much of the three-year planning and construction process beginning in 2002.
They, along with representatives from the city of Port Angeles, area business leaders and members of civic organizations, are expected to be in attendance.
A remembrance of Frank Russo, a 14-year-old Stevens Middle School student who died while skateboarding without a helmet in the park in 2006, also will be included in the ceremony.
The 2005 ceremony included demonstrations from visiting professional skateboarders of Lib Technology Skateboards, and music was provided by several live bands.
Show of skill
This Saturday, a Mervin Manufacturing skateboard demonstration team will provide a show of skill in the skate park.
The skateboard demonstration will be held immediately after the dedication ceremony.
Brad Jay will be the master of ceremonies, and a disc jockey will provide music.
Jay and Tim Stanford of Mervin Manufacturing were instrumental in the fundraising and promotion of the skate park in 2005, Reiss said.
A contest will end with a grand prize of a new snowboard from Mervin Manufacturing’s LibTech division, Tim Stanford said.
Merchandise from the Tony Hawk Foundation also will be given away.
Peninsula Bottling, a contributor to the skate park, will be providing refreshments for the dedication and demonstration.
The park was designed by Dreamland Skateparks LLC as a “world class” skate park and earned an overall rating of four out of five stars by www.ConcreteDisciples.com, an online skateboard park review website.
The park’s speed and flowing curves are listed as among the best of its features.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
