Skate Mission Plaza brings ‘big community’ of roller skaters to downtown SLO

The closest roller skating rink from the city of San Luis Obispo is about 40 minutes away — that is, until a pop-up rink came to Mission Plaza.

There’s one more week left for the Skate Mission Plaza rink, organized by the City of SLO and nonprofit organization, Downtown SLO, according to its news release.

The rink was installed May 6 and will be open through May 22 — offering music, disco balls and rental skates that are included in the admission ticket price.

According to a news release, the rink’s 1980s-themed opening night sold out with skaters of all ages. The night was full of themed outfits and music, featuring guest DJ Adam Montiel from Krush 92.5.

The event has been promoted by The SLORoll, a nonprofit “dedicated to uplifting our community through creativity, roller culture and physical activity.”

Terrance Brown, the founder of SB Rollers in Santa Barbara, visited the pop-up rink the first weekend it was opened, after hearing about it from The SLORoll.

Brown came out with his brother, sister-in-law and their kids.

“My brother, he just came back from deployment to the Army — six months,” Brown said. “So I was like, dude, once you come out here to Santa Barbara, we have to take a ride.”

Brown said he took up roller skating when he fell into “a dark place” during the COVID-19 lockdown. His mom was the first to suggest taking up a skating hobby.

“That was one of the good things that came along the road,” Brown said. “I know a lot of people were kind of relating to the same feeling that I felt. So I was like, if I can change, you know, two people’s lives … those two people will tell two more, and so on. And it just became a big community.”

The rink was installed by All Year Sports Galaxy, a company that sets up pop-up skating rinks across the country. The company was founded by Ukrainian Olympian Vadim Slivchenko, according to a news release.

Employee Artur Butov, who was working at the rink, said the company began in West Virginia but has been expanding to the West Coast. A student at West Virginia University, Butov said every employee either knows Slivchenko, or his son, personally.

Christy Nosti, a local parent, skated with her kids at the San Luis Obispo rink on opening day. She says they’ll come again.

“I took my kids to opening day, and they cannot stop talking about it,” Nosti said in the news release.

San Luis Obispo City Council member Andy Pease also stopped by, according to the release.

“It was so fun to skate in Mission Plaza and see a family-friendly (activity in) this beloved public space,” Pease said in the release. “The City of San Luis Obispo is proud to support activities like these to invite people to enjoy our downtown and support our businesses.”

How to get tickets to pop-up rink

Tickets are available on the Downtown SLO website and must be purchased in advance. Skaters will be admitted with online tickets via EventBrite.

Each skate session lasts one hour. An adult ticket costs $20 an hour, and tickets for kids under 12 are $10 an hour.

In addition to regular sessions, themed nights will continue through this last week. SLO REP will perform parts of their upcoming production of Xanadu on Thursday, while Friday is set to be a 1970s theme.

Skating will take place on the following days and times:

• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 3-7 p.m.
• Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 3-9 p.m.
• Sunday: 2-6 p.m.