I’m not done posting from the Maine trip and a few other things that happened after, but I thought I’d jump ahead and post some images from a big event here this past weekend. Saturday marked the opening of the new Venice Skate Park, a $3.4 million project 12 years in the making. This was a monumental event for skaters here in Venice, aka Dogtown, the place where modern skateboarding was born. If you’re not familiar with the story, I highly recommend checking out the Stacy Peralta documentary “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” which traces the history of the Zephyr surf team’s transition into the Zephyr skateboard team as they reinvented skating by incorporating surfing maneuvers and the surfing lifestyle to the once wholesome but staid sport of the 1950s. From that group came legends like Peralta and Tony Alva, the sports first to achieve rock star status, which lead to the next generation of superstars like Tony Hawk. Many of the original members and team founder Jeff Ho were in attendance, though I don’t recall seeing the two guys I mentioned. However, the importance of the realization of this park was evident by the huge crowd that turned out for its unveiling. I had a great time standing alongside everyone as skaters took turns dropping into the giant bowl while others watched along its rim. As this is only a block from my door, I’m looking forward to stopping by on a regular basis to check out the scene. Hopefully it won’t always be as crowded as it was Saturday though!
