Join the Lake City community to celebrate the opening of the Lake City Skatespot at Virgil Flaim Park on Saturday, September 9, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The official ribbon cutting ceremony starts at 11 a.m. followed by beginner skateboard lessons from Skate Like a Girl, a 12 and under skate demo, giveaways, DIY deck project, music and refreshments. Virgil Flaim Park, 2700 NE 123rd St, is the largest, most centrally-located park in the Lake City community, and it is used extensively by families for recreation, outdoor dining, and community gatherings. 
The Lake City Skatespot project was community-initiated and includes a skatespot with colored concrete, a relocated and resurfaced the basketball court and other improvements at the park. A skatespot is smaller than a full skatepark but large enough to incorporate multiple skateboarding features. The community’s desire for a skatepark in Lake City was first documented in the North Neighborhood Plan (1999) and then in the Seattle Parks and Recreation’s 2007 Citywide Skatepark Plan. Cascade Design Collaborative in collaboration with Grindline Skateparks worked with the community on the design and improvements at the park.
The project received $750,000 from the community-initiated 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund, $75,000 from King County Youth and Amateur Sports Facilities program, and a $30,000 donation from the Wells Fargo “LIFT the Block” neighborhood revitalization program. Local Wells Fargo team members will volunteer at the event assisting with Lake City Branch Library DIY board project and commemorative button-making during the grand opening celebration.
The park project supports current revitalization efforts by Children’s Home Society of Washington who acted as the sponsor for Wells Fargo “LIFT the Block” grant. The Wells Fargo donation funded the colored concrete for the skatespot and supported the opening celebration.
For more information about the event please contact Karen O’Connor, Seattle Parks and Recreation at 206-233-7929 or karen.o’connor@seattle.gov.
About the partners:
Skate Like a Girl – Skate Like a Girl is a Seattle-based non-profit organization with a mission to create an inclusive community by promoting confidence, leadership, and social justice through the sport of skateboarding. By hosting various program models – Ladies* Nights, free lessons for youth 12 & under, after-school enrichment, to name a few – this organization actively challenges who and how folks can participate in skateboarding.
Children’s Home Society of Washington – Founded in 1896, Children’s Home Society of Washington is the oldest and largest statewide nonprofit children’s organization—serving nearly 30,000 children and their families. Its mission is to develop healthy children, create strong families, build engaged communities, and speak and advocate for children.
Wells Fargo & Company – The “LIFT the Block” program is part of Wells Fargo’s $5 million NeighborhoodLIFT initiative launched last July to help boost local homeownership through down payment assistance grants and homebuyer education, in partnership with HomeSight. More than $2 million in grants remain available for eligible King, Pierce and Snohomish County homebuyers. To learn more about the matching down payment assistance program eligibility requirements, visit https://www.wellsfargo.com/mortgage/lift/ or contact HomeSight at 206-723-4355. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $2.0 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,500 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 273,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.