City Seeks to Raise Funds for Skatepark

REDLANDS>> Skateboarders can grab their gear and head to Sylvan Park on Sunday, April 23 from 11- 4 p.m. for a family-friendly open skate session. The event, titled “I Want a Skate Park,” is a fundraising event hosted by the Friends of Redlands Skatepark, a nonprofit organization raising funds for the park, and by the City of Redlands. The event will feature live music, food and activities. In a video posted on the City of Redlands Facebook page presented by the Redlands City Manager’s Office and City Manager N. Enrique Martinez, Mayor Paul Foster and Council Member Jon Harrison spoke about the proposed park. “When I was a kid, skateboarding was for renegades just going out there and having fun,” Harrison said in the video. “But now what we’re seeing is skateboarding is a fantastic family event. Families go to skate parks all over southern California.” Foster said Redlands has a wide range of recreational activities and the skate park would be an addition to the services and locations offered to younger people. “It gets these young people out from behind the television or computer screen,” Foster said in the video. “It gets them back out being active and healthy in our community which I think in this day and time is critically important.” The city council approved the conceptual design in June of 2016 for the skate park that is planned to be constructed at Sylvan Park. The Tony Hawk foundation, a nonprofit organization, recently granted the Redlands Skate Park project with a $25,000 grant to help construct the park. THF, established by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, gave nine skatepark grants this spring and gave the highest monetary grant to Redlands. THF promotes and provides technical assistance and funds for high-quality public skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States that promotes healthy, active lifestyles, and International programs that enrich the lives of youth through skateboarding. The fundraising event on Sunday is free to the public at the South Side along Park Avenue in Redlands, CA 92374. All ages may ride with a signed waiver and helmets are required.