Greenport 'Sound & Skate Festival' Aims To Give New Life To Skate Park

GREENPORT, NY — Efforts are underway to breathe new life into the Greenport skate park, located on Moores Lane — long a gathering place for young people hoping to not just perfect their skills but find community and a place to dream.

On Saturday, the "Sound & Skate Festival," which takes place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the facility, aims to raise funds for ongoing work to repair the skate park and refurbish the facility, and also to redesign the space so that it can grow to meet new needs.

The festival will include skating contests, 100 vendors and food, live music, and a graffiti and mural contest featuring 25 artists.

According to Rena Wilhelm, one of the volunteers who's worked to organize efforts and also, owner of The Weathered Barn, the skate park was built in 1998. In 2008 a series of yearly festival fundraisers kicked off to raise money to fix up the park "because it needed a little TLC," she said.

Those early festivals featured skate competitions, music, a DJ, and food, and brought out the community for a day of fun.

But time and a pandemic has left the park "seriously in need of repair, posing several structural risks to skaters," Wilhelm said. "The park has been littered and vandalized" and needed an infusion of love and community care, she said.

"One of our local youths, Dane Jensen, asked his mom to reach out to the community in 2019, after seeing recent graffiti that really upset him. After seeing this plea, I said, 'Let's figure this out and let's do this,'" Wilhelm said.

While she had no idea, at first, what efforts would entail, Wilhelm said she had experience curating vendors for the Maritime Festival and many relationships with local artists given the nature of her business.

"To revive the festival into a major event, was the best chance at bringing out community together and bringing attention to the fact that the park needs funds to not only restore it, but to redesign aspects of the parks to reflect the newer trends in skateboarding, quad skating, inline skating, scooters and BMX bikes," she said.

"This has been exclusively a grass roots movement with a small team of volunteers that has not only expended intensive labor, but also their own personal money," Wilhelm said.

Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard applauded the ongoing efforts. "I think they are doing great work and can't wait to see what new fixtures they have planned," he said. "It is a good thing for everyone that uses the park or just watches the kids having fun and learning more tricks. I wish them well today and good luck with raising awareness of the park — and also, with raising funds for improvements."

The group organized and created the Greenport Skate Park Inc., a nonprofit organization. But, while efforts have been ongoing, more help is needed, Wilhelm said.

"There is just not nearly enough money in the budget to account for the park's state of disrepair. It might take us a while, but we push forward, bringing awareness and soliciting sponsorship and other fundraising options," she said.

There was one financial sponsor for Saturday's event, The Greenporter Hotel; in addition, the group received a "generous" donation of plywood from Riverhead Building Supply that is serving as the backdrop to the canvases that will be painted by 25 graffiti-mural artists from Long Island, New York City and New Jersey, Wilhelm said.

Earlier this year in May, another fundraiser for the park, "Decked Out," included a fashion show.

Wilhelm was candid about discussing the challenges the group has faced so far in garnering support for fundraising efforts.

"It can be disheartening sometimes when people don't see the value in the skate park. Skate parks suffer from many generalizations," including a stereotype as a place for illicit behavior, she said.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Wilhelm said. "Skate parks allow kids to be outside, to socialize, to find common ground with other youths. It allows kids to bond with their parents or other adults willing to teach and pass their skills along to novice skaters. The skate boarding community is one of the most supportive groups I have had the pleasure of working alongside."

To that end, an information booth will set up at the park during the event. Donations can be made by check or @GreenportSkatePark on Venmo.

"This is also our chance to showcase Greenport for something other than the downtown business," Wilhelm said. "It's what I call the 'other' park and it deserves as much attention as Mitchell Park because of what it offers our own community and others who come from all over just to use the park."

Personally, Wilhelm said she finds efforts to rebuild the skate park and cultivate a larger community for skate enthusiasts deeply rewarding.

"As a business owner in Greenport and a resident, I see the divide between the locals and the downtown. The local community often feels forgotten about and projects like this often start with a small group of well- intentioned individuals working toward a larger picture. We hope the festival gains momentum so that more people not only use the park but attracts people who will offer to help us attain our goals."

Saturday's event is a celebration not just of skating but of street art and the artisan community, and how all art plays a part in the skate boarding community, a place where youth can learn to dream and create, she said.

She added: "It's all about celebrating the entire skate culture to bring awareness to the needs of the park and cultivating more exposure to the industry for young entrepreneurs."

To learn more about fundraising efforts to revitalize the park, click here.