By Ethan Barnett
Freeman Intern
Times are changing for local skateboard communities.
The Rhinebeck Skate Park Committee has scheduled a skateboarding film festival fundraiser on Saturday at the Rhinebeck High School Auditorium, 45 North Park Road, Rhinebeck.
An assortment of local and professional skateboarding films will be shown to raise money for the construction of the Rhinebeck Skate Park in Thompson-Mazzarella Park. And 1979 National Skateboard Champion Steve Olson is scheduled to make a guest appearance.
The skate park is planned out to be a 10,000-square-foot custom concrete facility in Rhinebeck — aiming to be the first of its kind in Dutchess County.
Colin Riley, 34 of Poughkeepsie is the organizer of the event. "I've been working with Rhinebeck officially since January of 2010," Riley said via e-mail. "The town and village of Rhinebeck is very supportive of the skate park project."
Riley added, "Kids from everywhere are excited about the Rhinebeck skatepark. If it is done right, it will be a definite tourist attraction."
Featured films will include:
• "Beauty and the Beast 2 - The Honeymoon's over," presented by Girl/Anti-hero films;
• "The Get By," an HBO production;
• Local video montages by Bakwoods productions and Jeremy Jordan of Shade Films.
Jordan, of Kingston, has been around the skateboard community for about 18 years.
"It's going to be about a 10-minute-long skateboard montage of some old footage that I already used for my last video ("Surreal"), and some new footage will be in it also ... plus some high definition clips as well," Jordan said via e-mail.
"These things usually take a long time, mostly because of the large amount of money it takes to build and the time to raise the funds. It's nice when the town pays for it, but that usually it's not the case," Jordan said. "I do think the Saugerties Park had some influence on the Rhinebeck community. I have heard they been planning on getting one for a while now, but I guess they are really trying to do it now. I think Rhinebeck would be a great location for one. They get a lot of visitors around there, and I feel it would bring a lot of people to the Rhinebeck area."
Photography slideshows will also be shown from locals Glenn Probst and Bill Tomlin.
Tomlin, of Millbrook, has been shooting photography for over a year now and is the owner of Topic East Coast Skateboard Magazine. "I get excited anytime I hear about a skate park that is being built," he said via e-mail. "It means there will be a new crop of kids who get to enjoy a pasttime that most will never know anything about. There will be a place for kids to stay out of trouble and form lasting bonds with their friends. More people need to realize that providing legal a place for skateboarding is as important to the community as a baseball field, which you would be hard-pressed to find any kid using in the dead of winter, by themselves, which is quite the contrary for a skate park."
Tomlin also said he has "been shooting (photos) for a bit over a year now, Skateboarding is the main subject of my photography."
Doors open at 6 p.m. Admission is $10.
For more information, call Colin Riley at (845) 242-3176 or send an e-mail to thechraveler@gmail.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment