By Thomas Stodghill, IV
Friends of Ruston Skate Park came together to fund the new park this past weekend.
This project started in 2016, with Miguel Lasala and Brian Lottie, while Lottie was a visiting artist at Louisiana Tech School of Design. Lasala and Lottie met with Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker who agreed to the project. They decided to put it in the former pool at Memorial Park on West Georgia Avenue.
This project has been met with several setbacks. First there was the tornado that hit Ruston in 2019. In 2020, Ruston also got hit by Hurricane Laura. 2021 is looking to be better for the skate park.
Jessica Slaughter, volunteer with Friends of Ruston Skate Park and wife of executive director of Ruston Skate Park Joey Slaughter, explained why the group held the fundraiser.
“The City of Ruston has agreed to fund half the project, and Friends of Ruston Skatepark is working to fundraise the other half,” Slaughter said.
Jessica and Joey Slaughter took over the project in 2017. They worked with architecture students from Louisiana Tech’s School of Design to help figure out what the skate park would look like.
One of many reasons they want to make this skate park is because of the Ruston community. They want to make a space where new and more experienced skaters can come together and play.
The attendance for the fundraiser was about 150-175.
“A number of parents brought younger kids in the morning for lessons – for skateboarding, roller skating and roller blading,” Slaughter said. “We also had kids with scooters early in the day.”
They also sold shirts and they raffled off items. The shirts have been designed by local artists Abi Watson and Tom Futrell.
The fundraiser ended up raising $2,000 for the new park. They are planning for their next Skate Jam Nov. 6.
