September 7, 2022
A skating sanctuary
Around Town
COMMUNITY VOICES By Rick L. Stevens. Pg. 2
Feature Section COME ON OUT TO THIS WEEKEND’S FESTIVALS! Sept. 10: Hazelwood Day. Pgs. 6-7 Sept. 11: The Taste In Ferguson. Pgs. 8-9
Special Section Photo courtesy Stolen Sun Studios Sk8 Liborius skate park has been housed in the St. Liborius church, in the former Catholic parish of St. Liborius.
Summer Camp Guide. Pg. 12
Features (FLIP)
Sk8 Liborius, housed in the St. Liborius church, is fundraising to be more than just a skate park By Wendy Todd Sk8 Liborius hopes there will continue to be no separation between church and skate. Once an underground space for skateboarders, BMX riders, quad skaters, artists and musicians, Sk8 Liborius became more well-known space for niche athletes and creatives. But now, after a decade of maintaining a unique community, Sk8 Liborius has come to a close, at least temporarily. Co-owners, Dave Blum and Joss Hay, are fundraising to reopen and symbolically widen its doors to officially welcome the public. The skate park has been housed in the St. Liborius church, in the former Catholic parish of St. Liborius, (from which the organization derived its name) in a historic district that has been deemed a St. Louis landmark. Blum has stated that “underserved, urban youth are the congregation now.”
The organization began in 2012 when the Catholic workers who were running a homeless shelter called Karen House, found the space too difficult to maintain, so they handed the keys over to Blum. The Gothic Revival style church was in bad shape, and Blum, having been a welder, began helping to transform the church into a skate park and more. “The space spent many years unmaintained by the Catholic community before it eventually was deconsecrated in 1992,” said Hay. “It was finally given to people brave enough to tackle the waterfalls and wind tunnels that had been created over the years. So for the first four years, it wasn’t as much about staying underground as it was about just trying to save the building.” Sk8 Liborius, which became a nonprofit in 2016, raised funds to restore the building with skate sessions, concerts and other
events to continue renovating. Currently it Liborius needs to raise $1 million to reopen and continue its charge. “Our mission as an organization,” Hay said, “is to raise funds to establish a community activity center in the city of St. Louis which provides a skate park and art and education activities for all ages and backgrounds We want to be a sanctuary for the counterculture that so often gets forgotten, especially in North City.” Fundraising efforts have included a twomonth partnership with the restaurant, Mission Taco, which held a fundraiser last month that helped generate about $20,000. In addition to the events and productions that have already taken place at Sk8 Liborius, once the doors hopefully reopen, projected plans include continued community See ‘SKATING’ page 2
Serving North & Northwest St. Louis County | FREE Online at mycnews.com | Vol. 101 No. 36 | 636-379-1775
Recipe, Movie & Sudoku. Pg. F-1 CLASSIFIEDS AND HOME & GARDEN. Pg. F-2 /F-3 Moore On Life, Yeggs & Crossword Puzzle. Pg. F-4
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