With the arrival of summer, parks are again popular destinations for those looking to engage in leisure activities.
Rotary Riverside Park in Centralia has new offerings for those looking for fun in the sun.
The Kraken Board Shop, nestled in between the Riverside Park and Fuller’s Twin City Skatepark, just celebrated its one-year anniversary and will host a best trick competition on July 22 at the skatepark.
For those into less extreme sports, a new nine-hole disc golf course has been completed at the as well, courtesy of a local Eagle Scout.
“JC” Gary Mersereau Jr., of Winlock, chose to create a disc golf course at a local park for an Eagle Scout project. He took on the project to achieve the final rank in the Boy Scouts.
“It has to help the community in some way, whether it’s fixing something, doing something for your church or school, or in this case, I did something for a park to help bring attention to it,” Mersereau Jr. said.
He wanted to help create a closer option for fellow disc golfers in Lewis County to utilize.
“I’m not like a huge, avid disc golfer. I don’t play big tournaments or anything,” Mersereau Jr. said. “But I’ve played some basic courses and it was kind of fun, and as I started getting into it more, my dad said, ‘You know, you’re getting close to your Eagle Project. This could be a cool idea.’ So we started looking at parks.”
Originally, Mersereau Jr. had his eyes set on Fort Borst Park as the location for his course, but ended up settling on Riverside Park instead.
“I saw Riverside and thought, ‘You know, Riverside doesn’t get as much attention as Borst. It would be nice to help bring attention to a smaller park,’” Mersereau Jr. said.
In total, the course cost between $4,000 and $5,000 to design and construct, with Mersereau Jr. raising money for it all, including a large chunk of donations from the local American Legion chapter. Additionally, he had help from Rogers Machinery Company, Inc., which volunteered concrete equipment and labor to help him complete the course earlier this year.
Mersereau Jr. started the project when he was 16 and it took him around a year and a half to complete. Originally homeschooled, Mersereau Jr. is now a Running Start student at Centralia College.
The nine-hole course he constructed begins near the southern tip of Riverside Park, with the first hole behind the AutoZone on the corner of Harrison Avenue.
Meanwhile, to celebrate its first year in business, Kraken Board Shop founder Braden Allee raffled off skateboarding gear and clothing earlier this month.
Additionally, his mother, Bonnie Allee, said they were also waiting on a health inspector’s approval to expand the concession shack’s menu. Olympic Mountain ice cream will be among the offerings.
“They’re a company out of Shelton. They’re family actually,” Bonnie Allee said ice cream company.
She was awaiting final inspection on Thursday and anticipated being able to expand concessions by early July. In the meantime, Kraken Board Shop sales continue skating along.
With the new addition of the disc golf course next door, Kraken now sells discs for players to use on the course.
“Business has just been good all around, you know? Sure, there’s ups and downs, but other than that, it’s been really good,” Braden Allee said.
When it comes to ups and downs, Braden Allee is no stranger. Before he was running Kraken’s physical location, he was already operating the skate shop online starting in 2018 and had a love for longboarding.
He was seriously injured in a longboarding incident near his home in 2019 when he lost control of his board going down a steep hill at high speed. While he was wearing a helmet, the crash still left him with a speech impediment and some loss of mobility. Bonnie Allee credited the helmet, along with his brother’s quick actions to get medical aid, with saving his life.
Initially, after the injury, a doctor told his parents he only had a 10% chance of survival, as previously reported by The Chronicle.
Four years later, he’s now operating Kraken Board Shop with his family. While he stays away from steep hills, he has even got back onto his longboard to cruise around as part of his physical therapy routine. Riding the longboard, even on flat terrain, helps him regain leg strength and balance.
Working at the shop also allows him to engage in one of his other favorite activities besides riding longboards — putting boards together and helping skaters customize them.
“I just love putting them together, and helping customers put them together, choosing the parts and suggesting stuff for them, curating stuff,” Braden Allee said.
Kraken offers everything a skateboarder needs to create a custom board, from skate decks and griptape to trucks to bearings and wheels, and offers a variety of brands too.
As for the upcoming best trick competition, Braden Allee explained there will be three skill level brackets — beginner, intermediate and advanced — and each competitor will have three chances to land the best trick they can.
The competition will start with the beginner bracket at 11 a.m., and the intermediate bracket begins as soon as the first ends. Judges may move a skateboarder up or down a bracket too depending where they believe a rider’s skills actually are.
Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers in each bracket.
To sign up to compete, visit Kraken Board Shop. Those under the age of 18 must have their parents or guardian present to sign them up.
Kraken Board Shop is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is located next to Rotary Riverside Park at 313 Lowe St. in Centralia.
