Eugene weekly., June 19, 2014, Page 13, Image 13

Living River Celebration
ON GREEN ISLAND
Saturday, June 28, 7am - 5pm
Free & Family Friendly!
M O R R IS
ING 25 Y
RAT
EA
FULL SCHEDULE
AND DIRECTIONS :
mckenzieriver.org
E S IG N E R
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THE SKA UGENE ON
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BRING P ’S GOING TO
FROM A EOPLE IN
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T E PA R K S
BUR K E
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Tree Climbing • Guided Tours
Birding • Canoeing • Running
Ninkasi Beer • Music by
Don Latarski and more…
And play they do. The sentiment at ground
zero — where the boys and girls on boards show
their stuff with endless ollies, carves, kickflips and
crashes — is nearly universal: WJ is the shit. “I
honestly think this park has every element,” says
skater Burke Morris, who works for Dreamland,
the Lincoln City company that designed the
park. “It’s all contextualized. You have a piece of
everything for transition skating.”
Portland-based skater Andrew Pugh, co-owner
of Sasquatch Skateboards, says WJ is one of the
best parks Dreamland has built. “It’s definitely a
good spot for Eugene,” Pugh adds. “They needed
something like this. Give it some time; some crazy
kids are gonna be coming up. It’s definitely unique.
It’s more than just a park. It’s almost artistic, too.”
Noah Dailey-McIlrath, who grew up skating the
streets of Eugene, says the new skatepark — and
the skaters that use it — has altered the landscape
of this formerly down-and-out wasteland under
the overpass where Occupy Eugene once camped.
“There’s always activity down here,” he says,
adding that most of the unsavory activity has been
quashed. “People that use the park don’t want
that kind of shit. Skaters are a demographic that’s
comfortable with self-policing. It seems to have
cleaned it up a lot.”
Conant from Tactics says that, save for “minor”
issues here and there like parking and loitering,
the response to the park has been overwhelmingly
positive. “When you spend time at the park almost
daily, what you see is a lot of youth having a
great time, respecting one another, challenging
themselves and encouraging each other,” he says.
Ramirez-Maddock from the city says the
all-day grand opening Saturday, with events
scheduled from 10 am to 8 pm, should give the
community at large a change to witness first-
hand the various benefits of such a site, as well
as evidence of a city and its residents coming
together for the common good. “It’s challenged
our city departments to work more collaboratively
than I’ve ever seen, which is exciting,” she says
of the creation of WJ Skatepark. “This is, I think,
how things might happen in the future. That’s one
of the coolest things.” ■
The Grand Opening Celebration for WJ Skatepark + Urban Plaza
takes place 10 am-8 pm Saturday, June 21, between Jefferson St.
and 1st Ave. beneath I-105 bridge; bikers and skaters with decks
can ride LTD free to the event; for more info and a full schedule, see
this week’s EW Calendar or visit wjskatepark.org.
PHOTO BY: TODD COOPER
eugeneweekly.com • June 19, 2014
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