Skateboarders call for park honour
Friends of Charlie Bowins urge city to name new circuit after activist
Charlie Bowins never lived to see the opening of a new skateboard park that he and others worked so hard for years to create.
But now his friends in Ottawa’s skateboarding community are campaigning to get the new Centretown park named after him.
Bowins worked for six summers as a camp counsellor and skateboard instructor at McNabb Park, and helped the Ottawa Skateboard Community Association raise about $25,000 for McNabb’s new skateboard park, which is set to officially open in June.
He died in his sleep following a seizure on March 3. He was 27.
“Why would we not take this opportunity to try to get the park named after him — he’s part of what made that park happen,” said Meag Issacs, a member of the Ottawa Skateboard Community Association, which submitted the application.
“His name is totally synonymous with skateboarding in Ottawa.”
Isaacs said she met Bowins about five years ago and was instantly struck by the lengths he went to encourage young women and others who were just learning to skateboard.
He was a consummate supporter of skateboarding and arts events, and had a wide circle of friends who he held dear, she said.
Naming the new park after Bowins would give his family and friends in the tight-knit skateboarding community a place to gather and celebrate what Bowins loved most, Isaacs said.
“That’s going to mean a lot to everybody who knew him.”
Since 2011, Bowins was a volunteer and mentor with For Pivot’s Sake.
The non-profit organization, founded by Antique Skate Shop on Florence Street, was established to engage and mentor youth in the Ottawa community.
Skateboarders donate usable boards, trucks, wheels, bearings and hardware for a discount toward new gear, while the store tunes up and donates the used gear to children across the city.
Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney said Friday she fully endorses the effort to name the skateboard park after Bowins, which, she added, is a fitting tribute to him.
“It’s happening under very sad circumstances, but he obviously had a huge impact on his community,” McKenney said.
“It was obvious from the emails I got and the discussions that he was certainly a mentor to a lot of kids in the skateboard community.”
The city has also received an application to rename South Nepean Park in Barrhaven after Ken Ross, a well-known local businessman who owned and operated Ross’ Independent Grocer on Strandherd Drive.
He was a leader of the Barrhaven Food Cupboard, a founding director of the South Nepean Autism Centre and a member of the board of directors of Oktoberfest Ottawa.
Ross was also a founder of the Barrhaven Business Improvement Area and served as chair of the organization from its inception in 2006 until his death in March.
Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder submitted the commemorative renaming application.
Comments on both proposals are due by May 23.