Vans Help out Project 45 and Leeside in a HUGE way
Skate
This September Vans released two pairs of collabo shoes, the Era 46 Pro and the Chukka Low, with plans to donate the proceeds to Vancouver's Leeside Project and Montreal's Project 45... two of Canada's sickest skateparks. Now these are not like your local parks, they were both constructed completely with donated money and materials by some seriously dedicated local riders. Pretty inspiring shit, we should all take note of the DIY attitude and realize that, with a little hard work, anything is possible.
The shoes have been sold and the numbers are in. Last friday Vans went down to Project 45 and presented them with a cheque for $16,392 (as well as a pair of shoes for each volunteer, fuck yeah Vans)!! The night was spent honoring all of the blood, sweat and tears put in by each of the volunteers who made building the park possible. Chris Dyer, a crazy talented graphic artist who's work is displayed on countless decks (we did a feature on him in 10.1), went down and was performing live art to the musical stylings of DJ Spoonybee. We also did a feature on one of the major contributors to the project, Yanik Nolet, in 10.3.
The Leeside event is coming up this September (details coming sooooon). It will be another rad night dedicated to keep inspiring the movement of DIY parks. We should all get down there and support all the local skaters that are making shit happen for all of us, their dedication to the park over the past 10 years is definitely something to take note of. Although Leeside burnt to the ground once and was burried in 6 inches of steamrolled gravel (courtesy of the city) these guys did not give up.. they pick axelled, shovelled and swept until the tunnel could be restored finally gaining recognition from the media and the city and eventually gaining funding. Can't say it enough.. it's an inspiration.
