Riders drop in on the Ennis Skate Park for the first time
The $300,000 skate park was championed by the youth of the community and is set to provide an outlet for a whole different kind of creative expression
“Before today, I never realized how much a skate park can mean,” wrote Ennis resident Lacey Hopper on Facebook after the opening of the new skate park in Lion’s Club Park.
“My son has always marched to the beat of his own drum,” the post continued. “In a small Montana cow town, it’s easy to feel like everyone is expected to fit the same mold. To ride horses, rope calves or chase the next championship. Those things are great for kids who love them, but not all kids are built the same.”
It was a group of kids who are built different that took the reins on the project to create a skate park in Ennis. Their efforts included a variety of fundraisers from concerts to art auctions to t-shirt sales. For over a year those kids manned booths, talked to their community about the value and skate park would bring and sacrificed time that their peers were using for other ventures to leave a legacy in their community.
“Some kids just want to be themselves,” continued Hopper’s post. “They want to create, challenge themselves, fall down, get back up and find people who understand them. Now my son has a place where he can be himself.”
With the official opening party for the park still on the horizon, riders of all ages have a chance to come together and get some early time in the bowl before word gets out that Ennis is a new destination for skaters. For a long time to come, the efforts to build the skatepark will pay dividends for the community and the kids who gravitate towards it.
“Watching him roll into this new skatepark and immediately be surrounded by kids cheering each other on reminded me that every child deserves a place where they belong,” said Hopper through her post.
You can learn more about the park and how you can help contribute to the final fundraising efforts to finish the park at ennisskatepark.org.
