The Calgary community of Ramsay now has a skatepark, thanks to the efforts of some local die-hards. Named for a now demolished car wash across the street, the Penguin D.I.Y. is a large, concrete, vert-style bowl that is now “open” to the public — provided you can find it and that you have the gumption to drop in.
Construction on the bowl began September 2020, when Eddie Cooper was laid off from his job. With his newfound free time, he sought permission to add-on to an existing “Do-it-yourself” project in Calgary named “The Bridge”, which was built in 2006.
“I called up the guy and asked, “Would you mind if I came and built a few more features?”, but he wasn’t having any of it,” said Cooper.
“So, I figured I could just make my own.”
The full operation required about 30-40 volunteers, and several thousands of dollars in donations. In addition to a GoFundMe, the Penguin D.I.Y. also received support from local skate shop Ninetimes who sold special edition “Penguin” apparel.
Neighbours also helped — whether by allowing the builders access to their water hose and electricity, or by stopping by and vocalizing their support.
“No one gave us any shit, everyone is stoked,” said Ryan Stewart (aka J- Breezy), one of the park’s founders.
A lack of pushback from the community, or from the city who may or may not be fully aware of the park, allowed Stewart, Cooper, and company to focus on the actual construction — and not the bureaucracy often associated with building, well, anything within the city.
“I was skreeting the bowl and all I could keep thinking was “What do the people want?””, said Stewart.
Following a long day of construction, it is fair to say the Penguin D.I.Y. is precisely what the people wanted.
As the crew — which included a few skatepark builders from New Line skateparks who had come to help for the day — drank beer and skated the new bowl, dozens of pedestrians stopped by to have a look.
Cooper and Stewart have plans to expand the park to include a more “mellow” section, but that will come further down the line.
For now, they (and the Ramsay community) are just happy to have a place to skate.
Lemon Fresh Media 