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Town Park to Open in October
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Priyanka Sharma-Sindhar
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Last Updated on September, 11 2008 at 12:02 PM
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| For many months now, skaters across Oakland have been looking forward
to the opening of a new skate park. First, it was supposed to open in
April. April turned to September. But now, it seems that Town Park will
be opening its doors for sure on October 18. Skaters and supporters
have been working constantly to turn the historic DeFremery Park into
a safe and welcoming space for skaters of all ages and levels. At the
center of the park's transformation is Keith Williams, better known as
K-Dub. |
For many months now, skaters across Oakland have been looking forward to the opening of a new skate park. First, it was supposed to open in April. April turned to September. But now, it seems that Town Park will be opening its doors for sure on October 18, when Youth Speaks/The Living Word Project host the second day of the Living Word Festival at DeFremery Park.
Skaters and supporters have been working constantly to turn the historic DeFremery Park into a safe and welcoming space for skaters of all ages and levels. At the center of the park's transformation is Keith Williams, better known as K-Dub, a 45-year-old art teacher who is something of a celebrity in the world of skateboards. He is one of the creators of the popular Hood Games, Oakland's answer to the X- Games. OakBook chatted with K-Dub about the much-anticipated opening.
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K-Dub
Q. Is everything at the park ready to go?
A: The City is going through the necessary steps they need to go through to award the contract to finish off the work. We have everything laid out. I’m here now. We’re – professional skaters, friends, kids – we’re doing a lot of the smaller structures. But the basic framing for ramps on City property has to be built by a licensed contractor.
Q: This was supposed to be the first “official” skate park in Oakland, wasn’t it?
A: They have one, Rainbow Park, in east Oakland – funded by the City and another organization.
Q: How is this park being funded? Is the City funding the project?
A: In this case, the City has given me the property. I was able to get the ramps donated from YMCA. We haven’t asked the City for any funding or anything except for putting a fence around it. Some funding was made available through neighborhood associations. We’ll give the money to Parks and Rec.
We are still in the process. We’re waiting on a contractor and building materials that will come (through) the bid. We’ll give them the whole job and what needs to be done type of thing and materials. I’ve been talking to the contractors who are bidding for this.
I just had a site visit from the San Francisco Museum of Modern art. They want to help beautify the park with a mural from an artist from New York along with Oakland youth.
Through my relationship with SFMOMA, hopefully we’ll be able to use local Oakland schools to create art for the park. There are a lot of projects in the works. There are some students from CCA who are interested.
Q: So, K-Dub, what’s your motivation for doing this?
A: I’m just the good samaritan who’s trying to beautify my community.
We’ve been doing the Hood Games event since 2005. The motivation is to raise awareness that the city of Oakland needs to have a place for the youth and this sport. We want to get the kids to stay in their community and to have something unique in the community. This park is easily accessible. We hope to bring more eyes and ears to how beautiful this park is.
Q: How?
A: Our hood games events have been really successful. This summer, we had the Hood games with the X Games in L.A. I hope to do a high school tour in L.A. with kids from here. There’s a whole youth culture into this sport, lifestyle, and it’s important they see more youth like them.
Q: For the uninitiated, what’s the lifestyle you’re talking about?
A: Skateboarding is a lifestyle for a lot of people. It’s a rebel kind of thing. A lot of people aren’t participating in soccer. But with video games, skaters in the country are now more accessible. Kids know names of skaters and tricks. You go out, it’s easy. And it makes you challenge yourself. That’s a great skill –to challenge yourself.
Q: What else do people need to know about this park?
A: This will not just be a skate park, but also an art center with partnerships with art institutions in the East Bay. There’s SF MOMA; Hopefully, MOCHA; A former student of mine from Oakland High is at CCA; Maybe the Oakland museum
As the park gets completed, as art culture, street culture, skating culture gets intertwined, I want the youth to have a site where they go to and feel – “This is my spot.”
Q: So who manages this once it’s open and what do you still need for the park before it opens?
A: The Department of Parks and Recreation will be managing it. We will always be trying to raise money for art projects, to buy extra skateboards for kids in communities who don’t have any, and money for pads and helmets. We hope to develop a nice inventory of safety equipment for the kids.
Q: Are you still teaching?
A: I’ve taken time off to get this thing up and running. It’s hard to focus on two things. I needed to take time off. I know teaching is my calling. I know I’ll get back to the class.
If you're interested in learning more about Town Park, or would like to contribute or be involved, e-mail K-Dub
or visit www.myspace.com/hoodgamestownpark
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