AI-generated illustration for The Mountain Thread. An imagined scene, not a documentary photograph.

Moe wanted to know whether you had to bring a skateboard to Saturday’s Fall Skate Fest. I told him he could bring an appreciation for people who know what they’re doing. That would leave both of us comfortably on the sidelines.

He liked the sound of the music and the food truck. Then he asked a better question.

“Who was Lawson?”

It’s easy to get used to a name on a park. You use it to give directions, arrange a meeting, tell somebody where the kids are. After a while, you can say it without ever wondering about the person.

This one is worth wondering about.

Barry Lawson was the first director of the Estes Valley Youth Center and helped bring the original skatepark to town. Estes Valley Voice’s account of the park’s history credits him with helping make that place possible.

Sherry F., whose children played in his soccer programs, remembers him always being at the games. No elaborate story. Just that he was there.

I like that memory. Ask a parent what they remember from the years of getting children to games, and you might expect a winning season or a particularly long ride home. Sometimes what stays is the adult you could count on seeing when you arrived.

“So there’s a soccer story in the skatepark?” Moe asked.

There is. Different equipment, same need for somebody to help make things happen. A ball and a board don’t look much alike, but neither one organizes a youth program.

Barry died in 2010. The park was dedicated to him in 2013. His name stayed with it, but the years weren’t especially kind to the old park.

And that left the town with a question a new sign couldn’t answer: what would it take to give the next group of kids a good place to ride?

AI-generated illustration for The Mountain Thread. An imagined scene, not a documentary photograph.

How Do You Build the Next Chapter?

Start by asking the people who’ll use it.

Moe figured you hired somebody who knew how to build a skatepark. Sensible enough. I’d certainly want someone involved who could tell a well-designed ramp from a concrete mistake.

But before the new park took shape, residents had a chance to help choose it. At a 2023 meeting, they put stickers on the features they liked in proposed designs.

“Stickers?”

Stickers. You could point to the part you wanted and leave your vote right there on the plan. No need to stand up and deliver a speech while everyone waited for the coffee.

That seems a useful way to ask a question. Show people something they can picture using, then give them a way to tell you what matters. I can’t tell you which feature any particular child picked. But I like knowing the finished park came with some listening built into it.

Moe said he’d have put a sticker on a bench. I told him we were still talking about the riders.

And Where Did the Dirt Come From?

This is where a road project joins the story.

The rebuilding had another detail I thought Moe would appreciate. Dirt excavated for the U.S. 36 and Community Drive roundabout helped form the skatepark’s mounds, saving money on the project.

He took a moment with that.

“So the road work helped the skateboarders?”

It did. Usually when road construction improves my afternoon, it’s because somebody has finally taken the cones away. This time there was something useful happening with the dirt, too.

Picture the two jobs on a to-do list: build a roundabout, build a skatepark. They don’t seem to have much to discuss. Then somebody needs material in one place, somebody has it in another, and the projects turn out to be better acquainted than you’d think.

The replacement park was finished in July 2024. Barry’s name carried forward into a place that a new group of young people could use.

That’s the part I wanted Moe to hear. The dedication wasn’t the end of the story. There was still a park to look after, and eventually a park to rebuild.

What Happens There Saturday?

The riders get their turn.

Which brings us back to October 17. The announced Fall Skate Fest program runs noon–3 p.m., with free admission, music by The Yeah Dawgs and food from Alchemizza. The projected contests move from a kids’ bike-and-scooter jam into youth and adult skateboarding, then a best-trick showdown.

Moe wanted to know what made a trick the best one. I said we could probably let the people landing them settle that.

Head for Lawson Skatepark at Stanley Park, check the latest event details before leaving, and bring a jacket. The contest times are projected, so leave a little room in your afternoon. Give the riders room, too.

You don’t have to know the name of every maneuver to enjoy watching someone get it right. And now, when somebody says “meet at Lawson,” you’ll have a person to go with the directions.

Moe says he’s coming for the music. I suspect he’ll stay to see whether somebody lands the trick they’ve been working on.

That’s a perfectly good reason to be there.