New ‘Skate Park Saturdays’ initiative aims to build community in Normal

Image courtesy of the Town of Normal

NORMAL, Ill. – A new community initiative is rolling into town this spring as the Bloomington-Normal Hub of Illinois Humanities’ Envisioning Justice prepares to launch Skate Park Saturdays at Fairview Skate Park.

Hannah Johnson, the hub anchor for the Bloomington-Normal Hub of Illinois Humanities’ Envisioning Justice, said the program is designed to strengthen community connections while reimagining public safety through arts and engagement.

“Skate Park Saturdays is the most recent initiative of the Bloomington-Normal Hub of Illinois Humanities’ Envisioning Justice,” Johnson said. “Envisioning Justice is a statewide program, and Bloomington-Normal is one of six hubs throughout the state that leverage arts and humanities programming to critically consider and reimagine mass incarceration and conceptualize a more just future.”

The idea for the initiative developed through ongoing conversations among hub members.

“The vision for it came organically out of conversation among the hub members,” Johnson said. “Dr. Caitlin Selman, who is a professor of criminal justice at ISU, mentioned Fairview Skate Park in Normal as an existing third space that is really intergenerational in its engagement.”

Johnson said the program reflects the group’s guiding philosophy that “wellness is crime prevention.”

“By reinforcing and enhancing this community gathering that’s already happening at Fairview Skate Park, it is preventative care and medicine in a lot of ways,” Johnson said. “It’s providing natural opportunities for people of all different backgrounds, ages and experiences to come together on a regular basis to learn more about each other and bond over common interests.”

Johnson said the skate park setting was a deliberate choice, acknowledging the history and culture surrounding skateboarding.

“The skate community has been historically marginalized and criminalized,” Johnson said. “But we’re able to showcase the beauty, the artistry and the mutual aid efforts that so often have been a part of skate culture since its genesis.”

The effort also emphasizes collaboration across Illinois. Johnson said strengthening partnerships among the six Envisioning Justice hubs was a priority this year.

“This inter-hub communication will manifest very visibly with that June 6 collaboration,” Johnson said, referencing an upcoming event that will bring together participants from Champaign-Urbana and Decatur. “Their inspiration and influence are really seen throughout us building out this series.”

Skate Park Saturdays will take place on the first and third Saturdays of each month from March through June, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The events are free and open to all ages.

“This Saturday, March 7, we will start off with the Center for Inclusive Intergenerational Environments at ISU, as well as art-making with Creative Healing Expressive Art Center,” Johnson said. “There will always be free food, and Crib to Crib will have a presence at most of the Saturdays to provide the energy and excitement around getting more people involved with skateboarding.”

With community partners, artists and skaters coming together in a shared public space, Skate Park Saturdays represents more than a series of events — it’s an effort to build healthier, more connected communities in Bloomington-Normal.