Roller skating built community and organizer hopes to keep momentum “rolling”

August 13, 2026 · 0 Comments

The Aurora Community Centre was the place to be this year if you wanted to dust off your roller skates and glide into the summer.

Now that the Town of Aurora’s two-month pilot program featuring drop-in roller skating each Tuesday evening in June and July has concluded, it’s now time to measure its success to see if the initiative becomes a regular municipal program.

The success of the program, however, is clear to local historian and event co-organizer David Heard of Dave’s Vinyl Party, who spent each of the Tuesday evenings in the ACC’s broadcasting booth, spinning a live music program for skaters on the arena floor.

“Diversity, inclusion, and community,” says Heard of some of the pilot’s key successes. “Everybody, for an hour-and-a-half each pilot night, there was not a phone in sight; other than to take photos, everyone’s phones were down, and it was a delight to see people skating and smiling, chatting with each other, and people of completely different backgrounds, people from different communities, different towns – we had people come in from Hamilton, Toronto, Markham, Bradford and Whitby. One gentleman hadn’t skated for 40 years and he came out to skate with us.”

Looking back on the sessions, each of which featured a completely different musical program, Heard says participants expressed a huge amount of gratitude to organizers, municipal staff, and everyone who came together to make the evenings a success.

“Staff deserve kudos because the more experienced skaters, for example, commented on how great the floor was to skate on,” says Heard. “One of the biggest facets of roller skating’s success… is the maintenance on the floor. A clean floor is a tighter floor to skate on so, in other words, there’s less slip and a tighter floor is safer and you’re going to have less falls.

“The diligence and focus of staff, they wanted to make sure everything was clean, spotless, and everyone was welcoming. The public noticed it. They could feel the vibe from when they walked in, to the music being presented, they were very, very thankful and wanted to see more.

“I had several comments on the different music nights that were stellar and brought in new people. [One was] this gentleman – he wasn’t there for the first night, but he was there for all the other nights, and the very last final week, I did an old-school 80s-style skate program like we would do at (Aurora’s old] Canadiana Roller Rink. I made an announcement that [the music being offered] was just two turntables and a microphone. This gentleman came across the floor, trying to find his way to the booth. He shouldn’t have done this, but he was determined – he came up the stairs with his roller skates on, old school quads, trying to find where I was. He came in, looked at the setup and said, ‘Oh, my goodness. When you said it, I couldn’t believe it’ He has skated all over the place, and couldn’t believe it. That was one of the ultimate compliments for all the hard work. We don’t say thank you to each other enough, but I heard a lot of thank yous towards facility staff, towards the staff in the box office, to our skate patrol guys, to me – teamwork paid off, the hard-workers were noticed. Well done, Aurora!”

Now it’s a matter to consider whether this multi-week pilot will become regular town-offered fare.

“This summer, the Town’s new Roller Skating Drop-In Program rolled onto the scene for a six-week pilot and quickly became a vibrant and welcoming community activity for participants of all ages and abilities. Over six weeks, the program welcomed 203 participant visits, with skaters returning week after week to enjoy the dynamic music by Dave’s Vinyl Party and fun social atmosphere,” said Miranda Link, Youth & Community Development Coordinator. “The program attracted a diverse range of participants, from first-time roller bladers learning the basics to experienced skaters showcasing smooth dance moves, classic roller skating techniques, and creative freestyle skating. The inclusive environment encouraged participants to build confidence, stay active, and connect with others in the community.

Heard says that, from his perspective, the pilot ticked all the boxes, went “beyond” his expectations, and he’s in discussions with Town Staff on options for the future.

“Whoever is responsible for putting obstacles up against us – whether it be the weather guys, the weather gods, whatever – thank you. It was some of the worst weather we’ve seen – horrific humidity, record heat, horrible smoke in the air, but nobody could stop us. We were a success despite that, and there were people out there in the community looking from the outside in the beginning saying, ‘Well, we think this is going to fail.’ I said, ‘You’re wrong, because if we have even a handful of people and it makes an impact on them as individuals, we will have done our job and won.’ Sometimes it’s not about the giant crowds. Sometimes it’s about the one or two people that leave your facility, walk out, and they tell their stories and it has a ripple effect. I’m proud of everybody.

“This could be something big and special, and something people believe in. Maybe those with money who want to get some exposure will want to invest in this in the future, and I’m sure they will. This builds community big time and that’s what people are asking for. Skating is community – it’s a growing community and it’s a very tight community. I’m sure we can ripple that into other concepts and keep building on this good vibe.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter