After 21 years of building anticipation, Leavenworth’s Parks and Recreation department is taking action toward bringing a skate park to town.

To help rally support for the venture, Parks and Rec sponsored a skateboard demonstration by American Ramp Company (ARC) on Thursday evening. The event involved blocking off Choctaw Street between Fourth and Fifth streets and bringing in three ARC products.

The company showed the children how they could use the equipment and then opened it up for the local skaters to take their own turn on the ramps and rails.

“What we’re trying to do here is get support for a skateboard park,” Parks and Rec director Julie Anderson said. “They’ve been wanting one since 1987 ... we’re investigating all our options.”

With nearly 50 children showing up to try out the equipment despite a constant drizzle, Anderson said it’s clear there’s a following.

“These guys are so passionate,” Anderson said of the skaters who gathered. “They’ve been out here all day even though it’s raining.”

Judy Thompson, who brought her 10-year-old grandson Jacob to the event, agreed.

She said putting a skate park in Leavenworth would give the children a positive way to work off their energy.

“Oh I think they should have one,” Thompson said of the possibility of a skate park. “They need something constructive to do. If they had a place of their own then they’d stay off other city property.”

Thompson said her grandson skateboards “all the time,” and he would make use of the park.

For Justin Boyd, the possibility of a skate park in Leavenworth would mean saving a lot on gas money.

“Now I’ve got to drive an hour to get to a skate park,” Boyd said.

The crowd from Thursday’s event would be a regular one at a park, he added.

“Each one of these people are my neighbors,” Boyd said. “It’d always be busy.”

Parent Dave Anaya said the possibility of a skate park would be a dual purpose addition to Leavenworth, allowing both skateboards and bikes to have a place to go.

“Every little town has a skate park,” Anaya said. “Without a park they have to go on the streets and sidewalks and then the cops run them off.”

The process is just in its beginning stages, but Anderson said she was hopeful that it would get off the ground.

“If we can just get it started then we can always add later if it grows,” Anderson said.