Woodward Park City’s Party in the Peace Park brought together park riders of all levels for a day of community fun and competiton on Saturday.
Peace Park was started in 2011 by Olympic snowboarder and X Games gold medalist Danny Davis with the goal of fun and freedom in mind. This year’s Park City Peace Park opened on Feb. 4 with 15 new, creative features including a jump shaped like an arrowhead, challenging riders with complicated angles of take off and landing.
Since opening, the Peace Park has evolved from a pro-level springtime event into an inclusive space where creativity takes center stage, said Davis.
Davis, along with other snowboarding pros including Woodward Park City athlete Rob Roethler and Joey Fava, spent the day riding the park with other local legends and handing out cash to those who did impressive tricks.
“The Peace Park has always been about breaking away from the seriousness of competitive snowboarding,” said Davis. “It’s a fun hangout. You do a cool trick, you get some cash. It’s more about having fun than anything else.”
A total of $3,000 in cash floated around the park with Davis and other judges to encourage riders to go big and be creative.
“It’s meant to be cool for culture, having everyone getting stoked on the park, good attitudes all around. It’s a really cool community event, everyone’s going to walk away with some money,” said Luke Giacopelli, events manager at Woodward Park City.
Chase Weatherley is just 9 years old, but he made a name for himself at Woodward on Saturday. His father, Paul, was out to support him, saying Chase was buzzing with excitement to meet some of his snowboarding heroes.
“He’s only just turned 9 but he’s been riding for a couple seasons now. He already gathered two autographs on his helmet and is surely looking to pick up some more,” said Paul. “He’s already got $20 for the day, and for a 9 year old, that’s quite a lot!”
“It’s like a second Christmas for him,” Paul added. “He’s out here with all his buddies, he knows everyone here from kids his age to the 20-year-olds, he hangs around and rides with anyone. He knows all the pros and just loves this place more than any other.”
Jake Smith, progression manager at Woodward Park City, was the designated ski judge for the day. While the skier-to-boarder ratio was slim for this event, Smith was out helping to celebrate anyone who put themselves out there competing in front of some of the world’s park heroes.
Big mountain skier, Hannah Baldwin, recent graduate from Park City High School and 2025 Freeride Junior World Champion joined the skiing contingent to have some fun with friends.
“We’re out here for the event, we’re kind of just cruising and having fun. I didn’t start riding park until this year, so I’m really just here for a good time,” said Baldwin.
Baldwin was joined by her friends Cole Levy, Jaelyn Hanson and Scout Gates.
“Cole is working on hand plants, but we’re really just taking in the vibe,” said Gates.
“It’s a nice community event with the pros coming back, too. It’s fun seeing people hike the pipe and make the best out of what it is today,” added Levy.
The group was in it for some cash, but with the level of talent and scope of the crowds, they hadn’t had much luck garnering Davis’ attention.
Choosing to hike the pipe rather than ride the lift for efficiency, Davis was flooded with requests from riders and skiers of all ages for creative trick ideas and advice on landing new skills.
“I wouldn’t say my advice is all that great,” said Davis. “They’re better than me, a lot of these kids on this stuff. I just like watching good snowboarding. It’s really not your typical contest scenario, it’s about having a little more fun. We have all levels out here, kids, men, women, we got some moms and dads throwing tricks.”
Davis said he had created this environment in hopes that people could return to the love of sport.
“I wished I had something like this growing up,” said Davis. “We had some little contests, but still, we would get two runs, and it was very pressure cooker environment.”
The day held lots of laughs and even more “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd. Two broken snowboards and a few tumbles along the way didn’t seem to take away from the celebration the Party in the Peace Park offered.