Things have really picked up on the local skateboarding front in the last few months.
It seems like the situation went really quickly from "the skate park has been leveled" to "we wholly support the idea of a new skate park in Portland."

Earlier this year the skate park on Marginal Way was destroyed and it appeared the city had no immediate plans to make a new park.
Things changed course in mid-summer when the City Council approved Dougherty Field near the old West School as the site of a new park.
Estimates on the how much a new park will cost range from $250,000 - $350,000 to build a poured concrete park.

It's gonna take a lot of cash to get the park up, let alone operational. This Friday's Art on Decks Fest is just one of a several local efforts to help the city raise money for a new park.

The festival, which takes place starting at 1 p.m. at Congress Square Park (next to The Eastland Hotel), will feature art from local and national artists on skate board decks.

More than 300 decks, featuring different designs, styles and patterns, have been created for the event and will be sold through a silent auction. All proceeds will go to a new park.

The afternoon will also feature live music from Twisted Roots, Sidecar Radio and My Disaster, among others.

Organizer Larry Freeman said the response from the local and national skateboarding and arts community has been overwhelming. Because of the large number of boards available, a small number will be on display at the festival on Friday, with many others available on a Web site, he said.

Freeman said he was motivated to put together the festival because of his 13-year-old daughter, who is into skating.

Freeman said it should be embarrassing to city officials that smaller surrounding towns have better skate parks than Portland.

While he was not happy with the city's decision-making process or spending on things like land surveys, Freeman said he thinks the city officials are going in the right direction now.

Freeman said he hopes to help raise $25,000 to build a temporary set of wooden ramps, docks and rails at the Dougherty Field location, which would leave room for the permanent park to be built next to the ramps.

Freeman said this would allow skateboarders a place to go as the park is built, and the wooden portion could be used by BMX riders after the project is complete.

More than anything Freeman said he hopes the event raises awareness about the needs of skateboarders in the area.

"We want to make sure that people know that Portland needs a skate park," he said.

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