‘Harvey Park Reimagined’ celebrates new skatepark, basketball and pickleball courts.

Thanks to the combined efforts of many, the town of Tonopah is readying to celebrate the newly revamped Harvey Park and everyone is invited out to enjoy the party that’s in store this weekend.

“We’re calling it ‘Harvey Park Reimagined,” town of Tonopah Tourism and Events Supervisor Bethany Thompson told the Times-Bonanza this week. “And the underlying theme is, everything is free! It’s a really cool, kind of end-of-summer bash, if you will. I hope everybody in our community comes to this – you don’t have to be a kid, there will be something for everyone here.”

The renovation project at Harvey Park got its start about three years ago when two Tonopah youth, Penny Smith and Charlie Skiles, decided they were not satisfied with the dilapidated state of a section of the park’s existing amenities.

“These two young girls went to our town manager, Joe Westerlund, and they said, ‘Our skatepark and basketball courts suck and we need something better.’ And Joe, being the great leader he is, ended up taking it to the Tonopah Town Board,” Thompson detailed. “We decided to redo the skatepark and the basketball court, as well as adding pickleball courts, because that is one of the most participated-in sports in the country right now.”

Smith and Skiles, who are about to enter their senior year at Tonopah High School, will be at the Harvey Park Reimagined party and Thompson said she felt it was wonderful that they would be able to see their idea cemented in reality. Additionally, she is looking forward to them receiving the accolades they deserve for their willingness to bring the idea forward in the first place.

“We will be honoring them with some awards, just to kind of encourage kids in the community to speak up and to take that skill set with them into the rest of their lives. If you want to see change, you’ve got to make it happen,” Thompson said.

The cost of the Harvey Park improvements was split between town funds and a Nevada State Parks grant and each contributed $288,000, allowing for a $576,000 investment in local recreation. With this, Westerlund then approached Spohn Ranch, a professional skatepark design company, to work up an overall plan for this section of the park. Spohn Ranch manufactured and shipped the individual pieces of the skatepark and Clair Concrete performed the install.

Once everything was nearing the finish line, the town turned its attention to a celebration to mark the project’s completion. That’s when the concept for “Harvey Park Reimagined” was born.

“I said to Joe, we’re not just going to do a ribbon cutting, we’re going to do a wild party. So, I reached out to Spohn Ranch and they got me in touch with different professional skateboarders and these two, Mike Piwowar and Rahaf Hares, were a no-brainer – when I was talking to them, there was an instant connection with these two, because they very much understood the underlying meaning behind why I wanted them here,” Thompson said. “They are excited to hang out with the kids, show them tricks and skate with them and they will have their little dog, Chippy here too.”

Thompson was effusive with praise for the companies that were stepping up to make the appearance by Piwowar, Hares and Chippy happen, noting that M&K Enterprises and Shaw Engineering are footing the bill for the visit.

The party will have much more than this, however, with a host of locals joining in to make the celebration as big as possible.

“Marc and Tiffany Grigory, the owners of Tonopah Liquor Company, are an avid pickleball family and Marc is donating his time to teach people how to play pickleball,” Thompson explained. “And Jael Mendez Greenland, she has a side gig as DJ Jaelhouserock, so I asked if she would DJ at the event and she immediately said yes. Then my dog, Max Thompson, will be hosting the Ice Cream Treats station with Chippy, and Max is also donating prizes and giveaways, like helmets, elbow pads, knee pads, stickers, wheels and trucks for the skateboards.

“We’ve also got M&K Enterprises donating hotdogs, chips and water for lunch and through a friend of mine, I was connected to a company called Old Bones Therapy, which sells safety gear - compression socks and braces, things like that – so they are donating items,” she continued. “We also have skateboard equipment donations from Tyson Falk and in talking to one of our own town board members, Stretch Baker, he told me that his very first company was called Stretch Boards Unlimited and he made skateboards! So, he will be bringing some of his old skateboards from around the ’60s to show off and, as such a generous part of the community, he is also giving away some items.

“It’s just so great to have all of these people working together,” Thompson concluded. “The enthusiasm is just incredible. I’m so proud of this community and the fact that people are stepping up and saying, ‘Of course I want to help’. It’s really something to celebrate. And it all started with those two girls, Penny and Charlie, who were willing to approach our town leadership and say, ‘This could be better.’”

The Harvey Park Reimagined party is set for this Saturday, July 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1215 Globemallow Lane.

Check out the town of Tonopah’s Facebook page for posts on the upcoming event or visit TonopahNevada.com for more information.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com