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Saturday, 22 April 2000

By Luke Beuchat

Sydney's Luna Park is an historic landmark. It is a place where the people of Sydney used to gather to have fun, to release the pressures of the working week and to simply relax. How times change. Today it lies dormant on the magnificent Sydney Harbour. The distinctive Laughing Face of its Facade that use to greet all those in search of a good time still smiles out over the city of Sydney, but within the gates there is silence. The laughter of kids and adults, alike, is absent. The amusement rides slowly rust and deteriorate. The famous Big Dipper roll-coaster sits very still on it' s rails while the salty air adds a red tinge to it's metallic parts. The paint on the wooden structures has succumbed to the unrepentant weather  peeling and rotting. The Park is tired but it knows it can not die otherwise laughter will die with it. And it knows laughter is the glue that holds society together. But it needs some spark of life to keep itself alive. Who would have guessed that a group of snowboarders would provide that much needed spark to the Park.

Times change and change suddenly. It's nearly midnight on the 28th November 1999 (summer in Australia) and group of guys stealthily speed past the Luna Park's Laughing Face with a trailer full of snow! As if by magic a festive atmosphere starts to waft from the cavernous interior of the historic amusement park. Once again the Park has a reason to smile because it knows that these guys with their trailer full of snow are here only for one thing - fun.

The guys with the trailer are in fact a group of snowboarders who had quietly absconded with some of the snow from the the Nokia Huge Air at Fox Studios. In a burst of energy after the event they had quietly wheeled their trailer into the Fox Studios, loaded it full of very expensive artificial snow, threw a few jump ramps and rail slides on board for good measure and then headed out on their mission. As the snowboarders sped across Sydney with their stolen booty, Luna Park (next the world famous Sydney Harbour Bridge) clearly seemed the obvious choice for this unique urban rail sliding adventure.

The Park smiled warmly over the group of snowboarders as they emptied the snow from the trailer and began shaping the jump and ramp. The cameras were set up and flashes positioned. Bogues was the first to go. The Taylor Twins towed him in for extra speed. The Park heard a nice snappy ollie as he launched off the ramp and started grinding the rail. The synchronised flashes of 4 cameras lit up the night sky. The atmosphere was electric. Bear, Mouse and Rich all followed after Bogues. After each slide the Park could feel it's inner self rejuvenating.

Suddenly the atmosphere was darkened as a park security guard woke up from his slouch and decided to halt the nocturnal activities.  However, the festive atmosphere and the incredible enthusiasm of the snowboarders convinced him that he couldn't stop the action by himself.  So he warned the riders that the police would arrive and 20 minutes was all they had to complete their rail mission.  10 minutes was all they needed!

The snowboarders continued to slide and sparks continued to fly as metal hit metal. The Park could see the smiles on everyone's faces and could feel the adrenaline in the air. The amazing atmosphere acted like an magnet. People could feel it and soon a small crowd had gathered to watch the session. Now it was really like a festival. Everyone was happy and having fun. The Park had a flash back to its hey day. People milling about, the shrill voice of kids, the chatter of the crowd, the screams from the big dipper, the pitch from the laughing castle. The Park was happy because it learnt an important lesson - although times change, laughter never does.

As the group stood under the Laughing Face, a Face that seemed a whole lot more a live now, they contemplated what they had just achieved  the first ever snowboard rail sliding session in Sydney. They were proud and they had ever reason to feel proud. The Park was also proud it could still provide inspiration, proud it could still provide a place for laughter and fun. Most of all, it felt contended because it knew the purpose for which it was created all those years ago, to provide a location for people to have fun, still existed.

Many thanks go to the following people for helping us have so much fun Daniel Pront from K*Grind for donating the snow, Stan Hill from Australian Snowboarding Magazine, Aaron for providing all the flash equipment, Jess, Sarah, Aaron and Stan for producing some sick photos, Ryan Gardiner for filming the whole event, Bogues, Bear Agushi, Mouse Beuchat, Richard Heggarty for putting their health on the line, Sam for donating his car, Chucky for helping us get the trailer into Fox Studios, Nick and James Taylor for just having too much energy and the security guard who let us finish off our photo shoot. And a special thanks to Luna Park for helping us find laughter again in the crazy city of Sydney.