{"id":38712,"date":"2026-08-13T15:42:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T19:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=38712"},"modified":"2026-08-13T15:42:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T19:42:47","slug":"roller-skating-built-community-and-organizer-hopes-to-keep-momentum-rolling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/roller-skating-built-community-and-organizer-hopes-to-keep-momentum-rolling\/","title":{"rendered":"Roller skating built community and organizer hopes to keep momentum \u201crolling\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that the Town of Aurora\u2019s two-month pilot program featuring drop-in roller skating each Tuesday evening in June and July has concluded, it\u2019s now time to measure its success to see if the initiative becomes a regular municipal program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The success of the program, however, is clear to local historian and event co-organizer David Heard of Dave\u2019s Vinyl Party, who spent each of the Tuesday evenings in the ACC\u2019s broadcasting booth, spinning a live music program for skaters on the arena floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiversity, inclusion, and community,\u201d says Heard of some of the pilot\u2019s key successes. \u201cEverybody, for an hour-and-a-half each pilot night, there was not a phone in sight; other than to take photos, everyone\u2019s 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 \u2013 we had people come in from Hamilton, Toronto, Markham, Bradford and Whitby. One gentleman hadn\u2019t skated for 40 years and he came out to skate with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStaff deserve kudos because the more experienced skaters, for example, commented on how great the floor was to skate on,\u201d says Heard. \u201cOne of the biggest facets of roller skating\u2019s success\u2026 is the maintenance on the floor. A clean floor is a tighter floor to skate on so, in other words, there\u2019s less slip and a tighter floor is safer and you\u2019re going to have less falls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had several comments on the different music nights that were stellar and brought in new people. [One was] this gentleman \u2013 he wasn\u2019t 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\u2019s 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\u2019t have done this, but he was determined \u2013 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, \u2018Oh, my goodness. When you said it, I couldn\u2019t believe it\u2019 He has skated all over the place, and couldn\u2019t believe it. That was one of the ultimate compliments for all the hard work. We don\u2019t 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 \u2013 teamwork paid off, the hard-workers were noticed. Well done, Aurora!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s a matter to consider whether this multi-week pilot will become regular town-offered fare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis 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\u2019s Vinyl Party and fun social atmosphere,\u201d said Miranda Link, Youth & Community Development Coordinator. \u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heard says that, from his perspective, the pilot ticked all the boxes, went \u201cbeyond\u201d his expectations, and he\u2019s in discussions with Town Staff on options for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhoever is responsible for putting obstacles up against us \u2013 whether it be the weather guys, the weather gods, whatever \u2013 thank you. It was some of the worst weather we\u2019ve seen \u2013 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, \u2018Well, we think this is going to fail.\u2019 I said, \u2018You\u2019re 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.\u2019 Sometimes it\u2019s not about the giant crowds. Sometimes it\u2019s about the one or two people that leave your facility, walk out, and they tell their stories and it has a ripple effect. I\u2019m proud of everybody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis 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\u2019m sure they will. This builds community big time and that\u2019s what people are asking for. Skating is community \u2013 it\u2019s a growing community and it\u2019s a very tight community. I\u2019m sure we can ripple that into other concepts and keep building on this good vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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