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Skatepark Of Baltimore 3 Year Anniversary

Written by MalakaiKingston
Monday, 03 March 2008
[Submission by Seth Levy. Pie, Skateable Art, Bands? What more do you need if you are on the Eastern Seaboard you should be there, go eat some pie!] 3/15/08 SOB 3 Year Anniversary, Skateboard Art and Skataeble Art Installments at LOF Gallery Date: March 15th Time: 8 pm to 1 am Location: Load of Fun Gallery 120 W North Ave, Baltimore, MD 21201, 2nd and 3rd floor of the gallery Cost: 10$ donation at the door, all ages event Description: The SOB is celebrating our three-year anniversary. There will be more then 50 pieces of skateboard art and photography and there will be Skataeble Art Installments, that's right art sculptures that you can skate. The evening will also feature live music and refreshments. Music: Jack Starr 9 – 10 Avec 10 -11 Vagus 11 -12 Throwdown Syndicate 12 -1 Sponsors: Dangerously Delicious Pies Click HERE to download the full size flyer. Check below the fold for some detailed information on what SOB is and what they plan on doing in the future. The Skatepark of Baltimore, Inc. (SOB) is a grassroots 501 c 3 non-profit organization whose mission is to facilitate the construction of a public, custom, concrete, destination Skatepark in the City of Baltimore. We are moving towards our mission by actively working on our most important objectives: planning, fundraising, educating & advocating, and obtaining the site on which to build our skatepark. Planning The Skatepark of Baltimore has been engaged in planning activities since 2005. The purpose of organizing and planning is to establish the administrative framework of the SOB and plan for the different phases of SOB's effort to establish a Baltimore skatepark. Since its first organizational meeting in February 2005, The Skatepark of Baltimore has held thirty-four (34) meetings; these include monthly Board of Directors meetings and meetings with volunteers, as well as meetings with public officials and area foundations. Some of the highlights of the Skatepark of Baltimore's planning activities include officially incorporating as small business in State of Maryland in January 2006 and officially incorporating as a non-profit organization in November 2006. In 2007 the SOB held a number of important meetings with City Council members such as Mary Pat Clark and Edward Reisinger in May of 07, followed by a meeting with Tom Stosur, Assistant Deputy Mayor, Mayor's Office of Neighborhood and Economic Development. The SOB also took part in grant guidance meetings with the Abell Foundation, and advisory meetings with Chris Delaporte, former director of Baltimore City Recreation and Parks and head organizer of the Park Advocate. Fundraising The Skatepark of Baltimore has organized a variety of fundraising activities to make headway towards our monetary goal. The majority of the Skatepark of Baltimore's fundraising has taken place on the grassroots level. The SOB has engaged in thirty-one (31) fundraising activities since our first event in March of 2005. To date, the Skatepark of Baltimore has raised close to $11,500.00 from grassroots fundraising. In 2007 the Skatepark of Baltimore was awarded a grant from the Abell Foundation of $30,000 for planning and pre development costs associated with building a public skatepark for Baltimore City skateboarders, bikers, and rollerbladers at a location to be determined. Additionally, the SOB raised over $3,000 from our own fundraising events in 07. Some fundraising highlights from this past year include partnering with the Virgin Music Festival and Mobtown at Pimlico Race Course, and partnering with the Mountain Dew Action Sports Tour at Raven's Stadium. Advocacy and Educational Activities The Skatepark of Baltimore has partaken in numerous advocacy and educational activities, the purpose of which is to engage, inform and involve the youth and community about the sport of skateboarding and the facility the SOB intends to build. Since March 2005, the SOB has held twenty-two (22) advocacy and educational activities/events. The SOB has been engaged in a comprehensive educational and advocacy campaign involving a variety of methods. All of these events and outreach activities served to engage youth in skateboarding, promoted their athletic development, encouraged civic activism and provided participants with supervised, athletic events. In 2007 the SOB was featured in local media including an interview on The Signal, WYPR Baltimore, a mention in the Baltimore Sun, and an announcement in the City Paper. The SOB organized a Youth Outreach at the Hampden Family Center and had participation in Station North Art Festival & Skateboarding Exhibition. The SOB held nine (9) skateboarding contests in Maryland along with the inception of the "SOB Renegade Skate Series". Acquiring land for our site/ pre development The Skatepark of Baltimore has had much success in its plans to develop the skatepark, along the lines of locating and working at securing an appropriate site. The Skatepark of Baltimore has identified sites in the City and are in the process of narrowing it down to a primary location of interest. Related to the pre development phase of the Skatepark of Baltimore, we have reached out to four (4) skatepark design firms to consult with and oversee the pre development and design process. In 2008 we are focusing on the acquisition of land on which to build the Skatepark of Baltimore. We have developed a proposal for a public private partnership with the City and are currently conducting meetings with the Mayor's Office. A recent highlight was coordinating with Brad Siedlecki of Pillar Design Studios L.L.C. responsible for Black Pearl skatepark and Anthony Bracali with AIA, LEED AP working on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. They both offered valuable advice and assistance
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 05 March 2008 )