GREENFIELD — The Recreation Department and local interest groups raised more than $3,700 to fund a new skate park in Greenfield during a concert Sunday night.
The new skate park — which would replace the former 17,000-square-foot park at the back of what is now the Olive Street Apartments — is proposed for the upper section of the Chapman and Davis Street parking lot.
The total estimated cost of the skate park project is $775,000, Recreation Director Christy Moore said at a meeting about the park in June. The city expects to fund the project with a Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) grant, a city match (from capital funding) of $350,000, and donations and fundraising. The roughly $3,700 raised through Sunday’s fundraiser is a step toward accomplishing this goal.
Hosted at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, the benefit drew a crowd of predominantly young people who came to see local artists Moxie, Lou Barlow, Power Trousers and The Feldons. Excitement extended to the streets as well, where skaters and painters put their skills on display. It’s this youthful presence that organizers felt both necessitated investment in a skate park and makes the goal feasible.
“We want to make this a town that is welcoming for everyone, including young people,” said Susan Worgaftik, a longtime skate park advocate and member of the Friends of Greenfield Recreation. “We have a lot of young people who are artistic and into a lot of activities like skating.”
“There is nothing for young people to do in this town,” said Louise Amyot, who sold raffle tickets at the fundraiser. “Nothing, zero, except for concerts.”
It’s this notion that encouraged skate park advocates that holding a concert fundraiser would be a fitting idea. Worgaftik said that input from the Friends of Greenfield Recreation affirmed this.
“I have a great committee,” she said. “This is what they wanted. We wanted to speak to the people who are interested in skating, and they know these bands.”
The concert lineup blended a mixture of gentle, softer rock music with more upbeat jams. The effervescently high-energy start to the show, courtesy of the indie-rock fusion band Moxie, was a fitting kickoff to showcase the audience’s youthful enthusiasm.
“To see a lot of people my age is new to me,” Maya Baudrand, a Greenfield resident and Northfield Mount Hermon School student, said about being at the event. “I love music. All I do is be in my room and listen to music.”
She went on to say how Moxie was a band she’d been keeping up with.
“I follow them on Instagram,” she said. “It’s one of those things where in 15 years, you’ll look back and say, ‘I saw them before they were famous.’”
Despite their youth, some in attendance simply felt invested in the cause.
“I just skate on my road, and it’s a horrible road to skate on. Really gravelly,” said Stella Turowsky-Ganci, a Shelburne Falls resident who attends Stoneleigh-Burnham School. “It’s really something that I want to get more into. I’d really like to see that in Greenfield.”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.