Skinny G Productions’ Park Takeover turns Vincent ‘Ugly Duckling’ into a ‘Swan’
Everyone loves to moan about how dirty and unkept parts of our city are, but few ever take the time to actually do something about it. Someone who actually rolls up her sleeves and puts actions to words is Nicole McComb, a dynamic young woman striving to make East London ‘cool again’!
You might know her better for her extremely popular monthly event, The Shack – held at the Lifesavers Shack at Nahoon Beach. This popular event is extremely well supported by the community and encourages families and visitors to use our beautiful beaches, chasing away the undesirable elements and making them accessible to the greater East London community.
Earlier this year she also managed to get permission for a road closure on the very busy Beach Road in Nahoon, when she held the kick-butt Beach Road Street Party with food trucks and live entertainment. It was a resounding success, even after the date changed as a result of poor weather.
Never one to rest on her laurels, Nicole also started The Creative Collection, providing a monthly platform for local creatives to sing, play music, recite poetry and inspirational words – helping to unearth our abundance of local talent.
But this past week Nicole took on a project that is very close to my heart, and one that is on the wishlist of many people in living in East London. Her Vincent Street Play Park Takeover has shown what strong will, good planning and local support can do to change the community landscape.
Before
This bland and boring park attracted only vagrants and was not a space that encouraged the community to visit.
Nicole and her Team
Nicole and her fabulous team (Michael Moyo & Ebhias Munogo), taking on a huge project to clean up a neglected community play park in Vincent Road, Vincent. For 5 days, Nicole and her team cleaned up the park and converted a bland wall into a beautiful and uplifting mural, completely changing the face of the park.
Ta Da!
The full week’s itinerary of events was sadly disrupted by gale force winds, however on Sunday, the day after our magnificent 3rd Rugby World Cup win, Nicole unveiled the beautiful mural by inviting the public and neighbourhood to enjoy a community day at the park.
There were fantastic local musicians providing live jazz and laid back sounds! Youngsters climbed on the play park jungle gym, merry-go-round and seesaw and even got to play mini-soccer. Their parents and community members relaxed under the shade of the park trees, some lying on blankets and sleeping bags… possibly getting over the ‘excitement’ of the day before.
There was coffee and food trucks with snacks… and fun and laughter! The event brought the local community together, and all enjoyed re-connecting in this rejuvenated public space.
It has taken a ‘Skinny Gangster’ (Nicole’s nickname and the inspiration for her company Skinny G Productions) to show us that if we put in a little effort, we can start reclaiming our community spaces and our community spirit.
A huge thank-you Nicole and her team for RE-ACTIVATING the Vincent Road community play park. We are excited to see you replicate this throughout the city, and we call on ALL communities and local businesses to support Nicole and her fantastic team in this amazing initiative. Donations will be needed to help purchase the materials and items needed to clean up these spaces, so if you can contribute, please contact her via her Skinny G Productions Facebook Page.
I cannot wait to see what next Nicole has up her sleeve! But there is one thing for sure, what ever it is… it can only be good for East London (Buffalo City) and our local communities.
Article: Sandy Loppnow
Related Article: Help ACTIVATE East London’s Public Spaces