Spring will mark the launch of PopSK8 Live, the region’s first pop-up outdoor roller rink. PopSK8’s traveling rink will appear at three locations for roughly a month each: Westfield Valencia from May 4 to 27, Westfield Woodland Hills from June 1 to 30 and Westfield Culver City from July 6 to Aug. 4. Each day of the week will feature themed music curated by Grammy-winning producer Chris Cox — electro-swing on Mondays, groovy ’60s on Tuesdays, showtunes on Sundays — as well as contests, games and group skate-alongs. Ann Potenza, the event’s founder, has more than 15 years of experience in the L.A. live entertainment market. For the last six winters she has run Ice, a 12-week ice skating installation in Santa Monica. She said PopSK8 was inspired by the popularity of Ice events and the lack of outdoor skating options in the summer. “Everyone would be sad when we closed down the rink at the end of the season, and they would ask me if we can keep it open year-round,” Potenza said. “I started looking around at doing something halfway through the year, like a roller rink. As I started doing my research, I got a lot of positive feedback.” Potenza organized PopSK8’s tour around a 12-week schedule, like Ice, with a week in between locations for site set up and break down. Roller rink infrastructure is easier to manage than an ice rink because of detachable roller tiles. This first season will serve as a test for future PopSk8 events. The goal is for PopSK8 to return and become a yearly attraction. “If we can get 2,500 people per week to come, which is about 30,000 over the course of the season, we’ll be in really good shape,” Potenza said. “Little by little, we hope to grow.” Admission for a day is $15 and includes skate rentals. Potenza and her husband, actor Josh Smith, founded PopSK8 last year as a standalone entity, separate from their other productions. The company has offices in North Hollywood. Potenza imagines a future with multiple PopSK8s operating simultaneously at different locations throughout the state, but she plans to keep the rinks open seasonally rather than full time so as to not wear out the magic. “When the circus comes to town, people want to see it because it’s not there often,” she said. “It’s hard to find activities that are good for any age that don’t cost a lot of money. … Classics never go out of style.”
