October Brings

Two Skate Park Fundraisers

By Kendra Bobowick

Already buoyed by the Parks and Recreation Department’s support, the Donate to Skate campaign is relying on the community for help in establishing a skate park in Newtown.

This month brings two more opportunities for residents to lend support and for skaters to exhibit their sport. A Teen Center Band Benefit is scheduled for October 18 from 7 to 11 pm for students in grades 9 and older. Admission is $12 at the door. Guests can enjoy free pizza and soda from My Place Restaurant. All proceeds go toward Donate To Skate.

Guests are also welcome to participate in Surprises with Prizes. Fundraiser organizer Lori Capozziello explained that the teens can guess the number of candy corns in a container and win “a little something,” including a Donate to Skate T-shirt, movie passes, or pizza coupons. No need to be a skater, she stressed, just come join the fun.

The end of the month once again welcomes skateboarders and families to a second event at Dickinson Park and pavilion. Save the date of October 25 for the October Skate Fest from 11 am to 5 pm. The day includes a skateboard park furnished by Rampage Co. for the skaters to use all day for $10. Helmets are required and parents must sign a waiver; download the forms through DonateToSkate.com or ask for them on the day of the event. The Dickinson Park event will held be rain or shine.

A bake sale and beverages will be available. Participants can also enter a poster contest: the theme is “Skateboarding, a Sport for all Sorts.” Entries can be any shape, any size, and use any type of art form, including paint, spray paint, stickers, cutouts, pictures from the computer, magazines, stamp art, etc. Following a skateboarding theme, the characters should be riding skateboards and take after Halloween. Included in the poster can be ghouls, goblins, witches, monsters, vampires, and more.

Three winners will receive a prize, but Ms Capozziello has plans for every entry. “We want everyone to participate and we hope to display all the pictures at Edmond Town Hall.”

The Donate to Skate campaign got off to a slow start, she told the recreation committee and the Fairfield Hills Authority last month, but both groups are behind her efforts. Regarding the new recreation director, Ms Capozziello said, “Amy Mangold has been great.” She has support from the recreation members, and has received from authority members an extended time period to secure funds for the park, which is slated to be built at Fairfield Hills.

The first fundraising and skate competition this year kick-started her campaign, which has raised the first $10,000 toward its goal of between $50,000 and $100,000. This week, she said, “We need money, a lot of money.”

If the campaign reaches only $50,000, she said, “We build what we can and add as we go.” She and her committee are currently drafting letters and sending appeals along with self addressed return envelopes to private parties and corporations, seeking their donations. Also joining her effort, a group of volunteers now comprises the Donate to Skate Committee — Lori and Chris Capozziello, Mark Tambascio, Tracy and Stu Hubbard, Kerry Ober, Erin Heneghan, and Kerri Cartelli.