You hear about park rehab projects all the time. But there aren’t many that can top what’s been going down in Greenfield at the former Turf skatepark.
Originally opened in 1979 in the midst of the skateboarding craze, The Turf was a rarity in that it featured several skate bowls (think swimming pools without the water) at an indoor facility. Eventually, interest waned and the park closed in 1996 before getting erased entirely as the bowls were filled with gravel and soil laid over the top.
After the Wisconsin Department of Transportation accidentally discovered the buried site in 2010 while building an off-ramp, an effort rose to bring back The Turf in some form. That initiative has seen more than its share of twists and turns in the years since, although the goal still remains to resurrect The Turf as a modern skateboarding facility.
The latest chapter is a benefit concert and skate jam scheduled for Saturday, June 15, that’ll bring together local and national bands with the skateboarding community to move the project closer to its finish line.
Happening at Konkel Park (5100 Layton Ave. in Greenfield), the daylong event features California surf-punk outfit Agent Orange and Die Kreuzen vocalist Daniel Kubinski’s band The Crosses, as well as local groups like Scam Likely and Bug Moment (themselves no strangers to playing in a skateboarding environment). Here’s the full schedule:
- 1-1:30 p.m. — Fastplants
- 1:55-2:25 p.m. — The Exotics
- 2:50-3:20 p.m. — Rusty P’s + Dana Copp Present: Art of 3
- 3:45-4:15 p.m. — Wave Chapelle
- 4:40-5:10 p.m. — Bug Moment
- 5:35-6:05 p.m. — Scam Likely
- 6:30-7:10 p.m. — Convert
- 7:30-8:20 p.m. — The Crosses
- 8:45-9:45 p.m. — Agent Orange
In addition to the music, the day will include a skate jam, skate-related vendors, a performance from the Division BMX Stunt Team, food trucks and beverages. For more information about the event and the project, including how to become a sponsor or vendor, visit The Turf’s website.
