YORKTON — Local youths and skateboarders packed the Yorkton skatepark June 13 for a community demonstration and barbecue.
The event was organized as a joint initiative between the City of Yorkton and Sean Craib-Petkau, owner of local business Parlour Barber Shop, to re-engage residents with municipal recreational spaces. Craib-Petkau noted the collaboration developed organically.
A collaborative effort
Craib-Petkau said: "I had the idea to bring skateboards into the barbershop and the City of Yorkton had the idea to put on the Go Skateboarding Day. These things just kind of happened at the same time and it was a very happy circumstance."
To support the initiative, municipal officials co-ordinated with a specialized regional retailer to bring high-level talent to the local park.
"The City of Yorkton reached out to Nine Times Skateboard Shop in Saskatoon," said Yorkton Mayor Aaron Kienle. "They've brought a bunch of their team here that they sponsor to put on a demo for all the kids in Yorkton. So, some really good skateboarding going on."
Reconnecting with local facilities
Organizers emphasized that a primary objective of the afternoon was to draw residents back to the city’s skatepark facilities.
"We brought in the City of Yorkton looking for an opportunity to kind of reconnect the youth and the people that have used, in the past, the skatepark, or currently use it, and have a little bit of a celebration around that," Kienle said. "Just a great opportunity to bring people to one of our green spaces. It's been rainy and here the sun is shining for today, so really stoked about that."
Craib-Petkau expressed pride in the day's results, noting that the sport is experiencing a clear local resurgence.
"We're very excited with the turnout. It's fantastic. It's a beautiful sunny day here at the skate park and I haven't seen this packed in at least a decade," Craib-Petkau said. "It's phenomenal that this many people have come out and this many people are getting back into skateboarding."
The event featured support from local commercial partners to provide refreshments and equipment for the youths in attendance. Harvest Meats sponsored a community barbecue for the crowd, while Parlour Barber Shop utilized industry connections from Craib-Petkau's former skateboard shop days to secure a collection of brand-new boards, which were given away to attendees through a free public draw.
Reflecting on the infrastructure available to the current generation, Craib-Petkau highlighted the quality of the local park.
"It's a fantastic sport," Craib-Petkau said. "It's a sport that is definitely making a comeback and a beautiful facility here in Yorkton — a wonderful skate park that I could only have dreamed of when I was a kid. To take advantage of it now and get kids back into boarding is just fantastic."
