Surrey homicide victim Dario Bartoli honoured with skate park jam

Friends of Dario Bartoli, the south Surrey teenager killed last December, are putting on a skate jam to raise money for youth programs in their community.

Bartoli loved skateboarding and BMX. That's why his friends are creating an annual event called Dario Jam that will be held at the same skate park where Bartoli spent countless hours.

Bartoli's friend Ian Ireland says one of his favourite childhood memories helped spark the idea.

"For as long as I can remember, Dario and I would go to skate park jams," Ireland said.

"We actually came to this skate park in grade six when we came for a skateboard camp. We just thought what got us going is what is going to keep the future going."

Dario Jam, which will be held Sept. 12 at the South Surrey Youth Park, will also include a barbecue, DJs and a raffle.

Passing trains

Bartoli was close friends with Ben Dunnill, an up-and-coming singer and songwriter, who has been working on a song dedicated to Bartoli called Passing Trains.

"It's hard because it brings back all the emotion and memories, but in a more technical way, it's easy because you have all of the emotion and memories to write about," Dunnill said.

Dunnill will perform the song at Dario Jam, and that will be the first time Bartoli's mom will hear it.

No arrests

Bartoli, who would have turned 16 earlier this month, was killed in what police describe as a group assault near 156 Street and 18 Avenue in Surrey.

No arrests have been made and police have released few details about the case.

Shortly after Bartoli's death, his friends spray painted memorial tributes all over the skate park where Dario Jam will be held.

"When he walked into a room, everything just changed," said Kieffer Dobson, one of Bartoli's best friends.

"He just impacted everybody he was around. He impacted my life immensely. I used to hang out with him every single day. He was really nice and really generous."