Help Memphis save the skate park!

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The Whitecourt Skatepark exists thanks to a group of youths tired of skating the curbs and travelling to skateparks in other communities. They put their heads together and focused on the goal of having a place to call their own. They created a non-profit organization (Whitecourt & District Skateboard Society), held countless fundraisers, and brought the community together in the common interest of creating a space for their wheels to roll and catch some air. Now, one of those youth involved in the original project is working to give the skatepark a much-needed facelift.

Donovan Pronovost is the father of two young children. He recently took his 3.5-year-old daughter, Memphis, out for her first skate at the park. “We spent hours and hours there, and she said it was her favourite place in the world.” He said that his busier life keeps him from enjoying the park as often, and that he noticed the park needs attention. “I actually fell on my butt because of a crack in the concrete. I was probably going 25 km an hour, and it hurt. When we originally built the place, the company had told us to expect maintenance and that chips in the concrete happen. They said that in five to six years, I believe, that it would need some repair, and it’s been quite a bit longer than that. We figured we would rely on the youth of tomorrow to pick up and continue what we started.”

As a go-getter, Pronovost and his sidekick Memphis are looking to bring together like-minded people to fix up the park. “I’m trying to organize a facelift to fix the concrete. There is a quite expensive lacquer that goes on top of the concrete that makes it less abrasive. There are also things I would like to do to beautify the place and increase its functionality.” He said that he would like to possibly bring in lighting to extend usage into the evening while also improving the safety of the park. Pronovost said that spectators need more places to sit too. “There are only a few places to sit. It really would be nice to put a few picnic tables there. Originally, when we built it plaza-style, with that open concept in the middle, we thought it would be a good place to put a couple of picnic tables and a tree or two to make it look more like a park.”

Negative connotations often go along with skateparks due to graffiti, bullying, or illegal activity. However, over the years, the demographic using skateparks has changed. Skaters like Pronovost have worked hard to change the stigmas around the sport. Families use them now, and children are getting into it at younger ages, just like his daughter, Memphis. “Once we get this park cleaned up, it’s going to look so fresh and clean. I want to do a freelance art wall. We could build a small concrete wall to use as a canvas. Maybe we could do things like Artist of the Week/Month in hopes that if people were looking to spray paint, they would have a canvas and hopefully respect the fact that the park is fixed,” explained Pronovost.

He said that if graffiti were done, profane or inappropriate, they would get rid of it quickly. The problem, though, is that paint on the concrete where users skate wrecks the expensive lacquer. “Covering up that lacquer doesn’t look great because it’s patchy. This park is on the side of the highway, so we can use it to showcase our community. The look of it goes to show how the community is. For young kids, that might not be their main concern, but if it can become a group effort, then that makes it easier to take care of.”

To cover the facelift costs, Pronovost started a GoFundMe campaign called “Help Memphis save the park!” In just a few days, it’s already up over $1,000 towards its $10,000 goal. “My daughter and I want to let people know about this project. This fundraiser is our kickoff for bringing change to the park. We want to start with the facelift and hopefully grow it to include the bowl expansion that we planned for originally.”

Pronovost said that eventually putting together another non-profit organization, just like they did years ago, would help them fundraise further and even apply for grants. “It might take two or three years, but it’s always been the plan to expand the park so why not start that up and start fundraising and go after it?” He added that the park is not just for skateboarders. “Some bikers say they don’t have anything to do with the park, but they do. When we originally designed the park, it was an action sports park for skateboarding, biking, inline skating, scootering, and anything else. This skatepark is for everybody.”

For Pronovost, the project has come full circle. He went from being one of the youths responsible for bringing the skatepark to Whitecourt in the first place to getting to share his love of skateboarding with his children to now getting to spearhead the next phase of the park. His old boss at Revolution Boards, Jim Ward, is helping him with his knowledge of this industry and a couple of local parents have also joined the movement. “Stephanie Currie Black is the admin on our Facebook page. She is a mom of children that use the facility, and she wants to help.  She has been a big help and is basically my partner in this.” Kenny Podulsky is also helping and recently posted the old newspaper articles from when Pronovost and his friends first worked together on the park.

“I’m overwhelmed with the support we have received so far. When you get more people involved and more of the community involved, you can make it more of a family place. That is what we want, so let’s make it happen. The older kids, younger kids, community, and skaters as a culture need to look after it and take pride in it. Doing this fundraiser and fixing up the place and showing that there’s care will help a lot.”

To help Memphis and her dad give the skatepark a facelift, go to the Whitecourt & District Skateboard Society’s Facebook page to access the GoFundMe link. “It’s a lot of work, and sometimes people might think it’s unattainable, but we know from doing it in the first place that it’s not. The community is there. We had so much help, and support and I feel that support is still there,” said Pronovost.