Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee Announces The Redbelly Boardshop Grinds of March

Eight-time skateboarding world champion and 19 time X Games medal winner Andy Macdonald will be in Ann Arbor March 13 for a skateboarding demonstration sponsored by Redbelly Boardshop in support of the Ann Arbor Skatepark Fund at the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation.

Happy New Year from the Ann Arbor Skatepark! We wanted to start the new year with a big thank you, and we have a lot to thank you for:

About 60 people, the great majority of them skaters and young people, came to Slauson Middle School on October 18th to give their input on what they’d like to see in the Ann Arbor Skatepark. We had a good representation from our City and County governments as well. Ann Arbor City Council members Mike Anglin, Carsten Hohnke and (soon to be councilmember) Steve Kunselman attended, as did Washtenaw County commissioner Conan Smith. Landscape architects Amy Kuraz and Jeff Dehring from the City and County, respectively, were on hand to find out more about the project, and give their input.

The Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee will host Wally Hollyday Design at a public skatepark design input meeting on October 18 at 2 p.m. in the Slauson Middle School cafeteria., 1019 W. Washington. There is no charge for attendance.

The meeting will be a workshop format, with hands-on participation by local skaters, interested community members and city staff. Wally Hollyday will present a visual representation that includes images and illustrations of skate parks he has created.

As we see the end of 2009 on the horizon, we’ve been looking back at our successes, as well as looking forward to what’s to come in 2010 and beyond. Without the support of the Washtenaw County community, we couldn’t be where we are today: on the brink of creating Ann Arbor’s largest public recreation project in the past 25 years.

You're invited to an exciting FREE "field trip" that the Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee has planned for October 3rd. We'll be taking a group trip to the Riley Skatepark in Farmington Hills. We'd love to have you come along to see what a world-class skatepark looks like, talk to people from the Farmington Hills community and Government about what it's meant to their City, and skate with us (if that's something you're interested in). If you'd like to join us, let us know ASAP. The seats on the bus will fill up fast! Here are the details:

Show your support for public skateparks by helping out at the best skatepark in Michigan!

This coming Saturday, September 26, Plus Skateboarding is putting on their Fall Classic skateboarding contest. This contest will be held at Riley Skatepark in Farmington Hills and is open to anyone who wants to compete. Registration starts at 9:00 AM, with the beginner divisions starting at 11:00 AM sharp!

To show our support for public skateparks, the Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee is organizing a group of people to come check out the contest, then help clean up the park afterward. Please put on your A2 Skatepark t-shirt, and join us to watch the advanced competition at 4:00 PM, then stay to show your support by lending a hand getting the Riley Skatepark looking top-notch. We'll be bringing rakes and trashbags along to help us get the park into tip-top shape. Don't have an A2 Skatepark shirt? Well get down to the Vault of Midnight, Launch Board Shop, or Acme Mercantile and get yourself one!

We are lucky to have so many public skateparks in Michigan. We're even luckier to have the best public skatepark in Michigan within an hour of Ann Arbor. Soon we'll have our own great public skatepark, and it's important to show the general public that we intend to care for our park as if we own it. Why? Because we do!

Please come out to Riley Skatepark on Saturday, September 26 to show your support of public skateparks (and have fun!). For more information, please contact trevor@a2skatepark.org

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our informational booth at the Ann Arbor Art Fair! Thanks especially to our wonderful volunteers who took some time to work the booth. This effort is built on volunteerism. We couldn't do it without YOU!

At the Art Fair booth we were giving raffle tickets out for a $1 donation to the Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee. We got 683 entries for seven awesome prizes. We drew the winners at random, and here they are.

The Ann Arbor Art Fair(s) are this week, and we'll again have a booth in the non-profit section. We'll be located right in front of Seva Restaurant... IN THE SHADE! Click here for a map of the exact location.

Stop by the booth for all your a2skatepark needs: information, shirts, stickers, and a sweeeeet raffle! Big thanks to Launch Board Shop, Vault of Midnight, and Acme Mercantile for their generous support in sponsoring our t-shirts! All the donations for the raffle and swag at the booth goes to shore up our operating fund. This fund helps us put on events throughout the year, and helps us to put together our top-notch fundraising packets that we use when seeking out large donors. Our Art Fair booth proceeds are crucial to us making it through the year financially.