Shayna “Pigeon” Meikle has a roller skate boutique, a skating podcast and can now add a roller rink to her growing skating empire.
Pigeon’s Roller Rink, a pop-up roller skate venue, will open on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the 2nd and PCH shopping center through the holiday season.
“I’m really happy for the community because if they want to enjoy the space they have it here for them to enjoy,” Meikle said. “It’s 100% the community’s [rink].”
The pop-up is completely funded by sales from her shop on 4th Street—Pigeon’s Roller Skate Shop.
The idea for the pop-up came from the years-long struggle to find venues for her roller derby team.
When Meikle and other teams found themselves without venues during the pandemic, she began to think of her dream of opening a community skate center.
During this time, Meikle also noticed that skating had a resurgence and people wanted a safe space to skate in.
“A lot of people were skating in the basketball courts during COVID because most of the cities removed the hoops,” Meikle said. At one point, she took to the Signal Hill Park basketball court herself to skate.
“Once they put [the hoops back] up people were skating in unsafe places,” Meikle said.
Enter 2nd and PCH, a coastal retail complex, that allowed Meikle’s community skate center dreams to come true.
The pop-up was originally intended to be a one-weekend event, but after months of negotiations, the roller rink will remain through the holiday season.
The venue will feature a polished concrete rink, an option to rent skates (although bringing your own is encouraged), family-friendly music and over 20 roller skate classes.
One of the classes will be a six-week choreography course taught by roller skate coach Candice Heiden.
The course is for ages 13 and up and costs $240 for six weeks or $60 for a one-day drop-in. It will take place on Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.
Regular public skate sessions vary in price—two hours sessions are $25 and three-hour sessions are $30.
Those who wish to attend the roller rink will need to make a reservation on the venue’s website.
As opening day approaches, Meikle and her team are a long way from skating at basketball courts.
“I’m really proud of how far we’ve come,” Meikle said. “My team has worked really hard on this. I had a vision and my team is the engine.”
To stay up to date with Pigeon’s Roller Rink follow them on Instagram @pigeonsrollerrink. To view their schedule and more, visit their website here.
