Update - Summer 2009

Submitted by bi_admin on Thu, 2009-09-03 16:03

Summer Greeting from Save Berkeley Iceland!

It is hard to believe that the third summer has passed without one of the favorite community hangouts for us all to go to - Berkeley Iceland sits quiet when it should be filled with music, fun, and more good memories being made. Another summer without the Berkeley Iceland Camp Freeze, opportunities for young adults to get job experience, figure skaters of all levels training on the Big Ice, adult ice dancers and hockey players refreshing their skills and memories of their Iceland pasts, and a community of friends getting together with a few hundred other friends (met and unmet). When people ask me and the others involved in Save Berkeley Iceland why we are involved, these are the first things we point to. Our mission is to make this all possible again with a rejuvenated and restored Berkeley Iceland that will be self sustaining nonprofit community skating center so that many more generations can develop the memories that we have.

So how are we doing? It is taking longer than we originally hoped, but we are still optimistic. The directors of Save Berkeley Iceland are still working on developing the lead donors needed for a project this size. We do have leads to generous individuals who we believe may share our vision for our historic community center. Economic times have increased the demand on the giving community and made it harder for new projects to find the help needed. We have been told that this is a good project (which we already knew) by a number of potential donors, but the hurdle is to get our first major donor - something we are working hard to do. In the mean time, we thank all of you who have donated your time and money to help us keep our efforts going as well as the overall community support without which we would not be where we are today.

In the past, I have described Berkeley Iceland as our community commons. A "community commons" is that place where all the members of the community can gather and share with others from all parts of society. Berkeley Iceland was our community commons, one that is unique, one that Berkeley now lacks, but one that can be restored. That is what Save Berkeley Iceland aims to do with the continued help of our community.

Second Anniversary of Berkeley Iceland as an Historic Landmark

We did miss an important anniversary over this summer - the second anniversary of the official designation of Berkeley Iceland as a Berkeley Historic Landmark. After a year of postponed hearings, three public hearings before the Berkeley Landmark Preservation Commission (including a rare subcommittee hearing), and two public hearings before the Berkeley City Council, the designation of Berkeley Iceland as a landmark was upheld on July 17, 2007. That Berkeley Iceland is a landmark was not a surprise to the Berkeley community - it more than met the qualifications as an historic site of unique architectural value that is significant to the community at large that is structurally intact. The surprise was that it took all that time and effort to reach that conclusion.

Save Berkeley Iceland on the Street

Street Fairs, that is. Going to the summer events and sharing our memories and vision for the future with the community is great fun. This helps us let everyone know what is going on with the project and let folks know we are still going. We had great receptions at the Berkeley Chocolate & Chalk Festival and the International Food Festival in May and June. Be sure to catch us at the upcoming events:

Solano Stroll - Sunday, Sept. 13, 10 am - 6 pm
- Solano Avenue, Berkeley/Albany
- http://www.solanoavenueassn.org/strol.htm for more information
North Berkeley Spice of Life Festival, Oct. 4, 10 am - 6 pm
- Shattuck Avenue between Rose and Virginia Streets, Berkeley

For the skaters and skating fans, we will also be at the Skate St. Moritz figure skating competition. This will be held at the Oakland Ice Center, 17th and Telegraph, in Oakland from Sept. 18 - 20. Schedule of skating events will be available at http://www.smisc.org/competitions.htm when they are available.

We want to thank everyone for their support and help in returning Berkeley Iceland to the community. Feel free to contact us with questions, comments, good wishes, etc.