28th January, year of our Lord 2012. The calm of the early morning was broken by the Grom push race 'Cannonball' from Lane Cove to the new HopShop. There were in excess of 120 groms all battling to make it back to the HopShop first.
Today is the grand opening of the new, bigger and better Hopkin Skate shop. They move from what was essentially a garage to much better premises which take the entire building; 4 times bigger than what they had previously. It took Robbo and his team a long time to get the whole place done and they battled with rain which made painting it a nightmare.
The idea of the push race was to allow the first girl and the first grom to be the very first people allowed into the shop and take advantage of opening specials. Jack Glenn and Brittany de Graaf were the winners and were officially the first to set foot into the new HopShop.
I had work to do with the setup of a BBQ and all of the associated stuff to compliment the opening. We had sausages and onions left over from last week and managed to get all of the Rotary stuff including the banner to make it all happen.
The grand opening was beyond successful. The groms were so happy and it was great to be there to witness the buzz.
It was a humungus day and was a testament to the determination of Robbo and his team. The volunteers that pitched in show that there is a 'community' behind it all. I'm just happy to be a part of it. The after party raged on into the night and like all good parties, the cops arrived. The HopShop has come of age.
Today is the grand opening of the new, bigger and better Hopkin Skate shop. They move from what was essentially a garage to much better premises which take the entire building; 4 times bigger than what they had previously. It took Robbo and his team a long time to get the whole place done and they battled with rain which made painting it a nightmare.
The idea of the push race was to allow the first girl and the first grom to be the very first people allowed into the shop and take advantage of opening specials. Jack Glenn and Brittany de Graaf were the winners and were officially the first to set foot into the new HopShop.
I had work to do with the setup of a BBQ and all of the associated stuff to compliment the opening. We had sausages and onions left over from last week and managed to get all of the Rotary stuff including the banner to make it all happen.
The grand opening was beyond successful. The groms were so happy and it was great to be there to witness the buzz.
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| Finishing Touches - Josh getting it done |
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| Robbo on opening morning |
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| Helmet wall by Josh |
It was a humungus day and was a testament to the determination of Robbo and his team. The volunteers that pitched in show that there is a 'community' behind it all. I'm just happy to be a part of it. The after party raged on into the night and like all good parties, the cops arrived. The HopShop has come of age.
