Nor could you ask for a more perfect execution.
Under a sun bath of a fall day with an air-brushed blue sky, the hopes and dreams of a group of Missoulians - skaters - came to fruition last Sunday as up to 10,000 people soaked it all in.
“I am just beaming with pride right now,” wrote Missoula Skatepark Association board member Andy Kemmis, a day after the grand opening. “Missoula and Missoulians are a treasure.”
If you weren't at Sunday's opening, you missed a great slice of Missoula history.
An enormous crowd of skaters and skater supporters - moms and dads, babies, kids with green hair and kids with tan khakis, pre-teens, college students, grandparents - ringed the new skatepark and the Orange Street Bridge and watched in awe, six deep, as Tony Hawk and the rest of the pro-skating tour dazzled them with a display of kinetic genius.
That Hawk and his entourage arrived for the occasion was the sweet highlight-reel event that topped a six-year effort on part of a committed, stubborn and tireless bunch of skaters who slaved to get the park built.
It was a delicious alliance of skaters, corporate and individual contributors and grant money that built it. Part nickel and dime, part big money, all heart.
Missoulians should be rightfully proud of the Missoula Skatepark Association, and rightly proud of themselves for their own generosity in getting the skatepark built.
It was an astonishing effort, with astonishing results.
Reach Entertainer editor Jamie Kelly at 523-5254 or at jkelly@missoulian.com.
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