Nancy from SLAG wrote in with an interesting event note.  Who doesn’t like skating to the French National Anthem?  Most interesting of all is the fact that kids can earn community service hours by participating.  Don’t be surprised if there are more rollerbladers than usual.  I’m just warning you now.  The French love the blades.

Check it out:

“Hey all-

Wanted to let you know that there is a skate event taking place July 11th, part of the French Cultural fest: Bastille Day (1:30 -4:30pm) so if you want to come down and just be part of the fun, or know of any students looking for community service, they can come volunteer by skating in the demo, helping to instruct and to run fun games for younger kids.

James Starlin will be emceeing the day, and rounding up skaters to do demos.
I will be in charge of the clinic.

Also this also extends to the 12 and Under skates from 10am-12pm on Saturdays at SeaSk8.
It’s a way of building continued support for skateparks in Seattle.

Thanks for all the work you do, and enjoy summer!

Nancy

–
Skate Like a Girl (Seattle)”

Ironically, the coolest skatepark opening poster I’ve seen Seattle Parks send out looks like it was done with a Sharpie by someone who needs a ruler.

The New Line / Hardcore Shotcrete (ARC) park has been open for a while now, but Parks is christening our newest  skatespot with some free food, lessons, and helmet fitting for the kiddies.  Thanks to SnoCon and SLAG for once again picking up the slack and making events like this actually happen.

The details:  June 24th, 4pm-6pm @ 7700 25th Ave NE.

Technically it’s Ocho De Margo, but when it comes to supporting the best thing going in Seattle DIY it doesn’t matter what it is.  You need to be there.

Lots of food, great people, music, and yes…skateboarding.

If you haven’t been down there in a while, you should check it out.  There are some exciting new developments taking shape underneath the highway.

If you can’t make it, you can always donate by using PayPal.

I personally find Skate Like A Girl to be the single most positive movement in the Seattle skateboarding scene.  As an organization they’re involved, supportive, and effective.  As people, they’re golden.  Most people don’t realize that they’ve been the main community builders down at the new SeaSk8, even during times when a few a-holes threatened to ruin it for everyone down there.  It’s not a question of whether or not you should support them, it’s when.

Here’s an idea:  SLAG is hosting the second Wheels of Fortune contest at Skatebarn in Renton, on Sunday December 20th.  Why not go down there and cheer on the skaters, buy a T-shirt, and show your support while having a great time?

Or…maybe you’re interested in competing.  Here’s the Registration form.

When you’re done paying $30 to skate over at SeaSk8 during Bumbershoot, you should head over to the Funhouse for the Marginal Benefit.

Here’s the schedule:

Fri 9/4 – Marginal Way Skate Park Benefit!
Neutralboy
Android Hero
The Burns
9:30pm, $6

Sat 9/5 – Unrelated show.

Sun 9/6 – Marginal Way Skate Park Benefit!
- Skate Ramp in Funhouse Parking Lot! –
Grindline The Band
Deathraid
III Judges
ATM
Guests
9:30pm, $6

Mon 9/7 – Marginal Way Skate Park Benefit!
- Skate Ramp in Funhouse Parking Lot –
Extreme Crushing Force
Last American Bad Ass
Imperial Legions Of Rome
Orbiting Giants
9:30pm, $5

Last Saturday marked the first time in Seattle history, when city officials including Seattle Center staff, openly welcomed sanctioned skateboarding on the Seattle Center campus.  This milestone culminates over 10 years of volunteer effort initiated by a Seattle Center staff member, James Crabtree, and has been carried to completion through several waves of Seattle skatepark advocates.  Sure, there were previous instances of a Seattle Center skatepark, but none of those were actually at the Seattle Center.

The mood was festive, and the skating was furious.  Everyone was there, except the mainstream media and Mayor Nickels, who was celebrating something arguably less important across town at the same time as the ribbon cutting ceremony.  Regardless, Councilmembers Drago (Nickels’ competition in the upcoming Mayoral election), Conlin, Clark, and Rasmussen, were all there to speak on behalf of their substantial amount of support for locating the park on the Center Campus, and for skateparks in general.

Now it’s up to Seattle skateboarders not to blow a good thing…

I must admit, when Edub pitched this event at the Delridge meeting, I thought he was clowning.  Unless you’re talking about Larry North’s beer can chicken, skaters and fine cuisine are not necessarily synonymous.

But skaters love bowls, and chowder can be eaten from a bowl, so that works.  I guess this is a spin-off of the Chili Bowl down in SF, which seems to work out OK.

There are some cool sponsors, MM’s coming up, and it’s especially nice to see Bombshelter getting some love in their own neighborhood.

For real though…it’s nice to see a variety of events being staged here in Seattle, now that we have some actual skateparks.  Hopefully this is just the beginning.

Here’s the official blurb:

The chowderbowl in Seattle is a one of a kind event that has a skateboard bowl contest, as well as a chowder cook off. This event will take place Saturday July 18th at the Ballard Commons park. There are cash, and product prizes, with skateboard participants being judged in the bowl and the chowder being judged against other entrants. There is a world class panel of judges for both.The production crew expects close to 250 spectators and close to 75 entrants. This event is free to the public, and everyone is welcome. The event starts at 12 noon and goes until 5 pm. The chowderbowl is going to be off the hook!! Come support Seattle’s skateboard and chowder scene!!!

Is there really a chowder scene?  Is there an internet message board someplace where people snipe at each other for being kooks about using too much potato, or for blowing out a good spot to acquire celery?

While video gear continues to get cheaper, and your grandma is whiling away her free time editing HD video of her parakeet on her iMac, amateur skate videos have gone pro.  Skaters can now apply such high levels of polish to their DIY videos, that they can rival the stuff that comes off the shelf in the skate shop.

It had to happen sometime, but I’m pissed I didn’t think of it first.  The first annual Skateboarding Film Festival is happening this August 14-15 at Seattle Center’s SIFF Cinema.

The guy behind the whole deal, Eric Burgess, tells me that there will be films covering the full spectrum of skateboarding.  If the submissions that he’s posted so far on the festival website are any indication, this event may just establish skateboarders as the bleeding edge of DIY film making.  I mean…all that CKY stuff was shot on XL-1′s and edited on a pre-intel PowerMac.  That dude made millions.  Now it’s your turn, and Eric is bringing skateboarding film to a first-class, high profile Seattle venue for the first time.

Show up, grab some popcorn, and get ready for some amazing skatefilm.

The hater in me wants to be all… “every day is go skateboarding day, man”, and “don’t try to turn this aspect of my lifestyle into a Hallmark holiday you evil corporate skateboard/lifestyle brand managers”, but I am really trying to be more positive these days.  I ventured out.

I figured the most anti-corporate place to celebrate GSD was Marginal, and it’s the closest thing to my house.  I expected to see a lit barbecue, people everywhere, and to hear Slayer riffs echoing off the walls.  Instead I found an empty spot except for this guy, and captured an image of what I believe the essence of GSD to be:

Go skateboarding for yourself, and no one else.

Marginal was probably empty because the SnoCon guys were hosting an awesome event down the street, and I’m sure it fired up later in the afternoon.  Josh Becker captured some awesome photos of the downhill bomb, which you can see here.  But having Marginal to yourself on GSD seemed like an oddly beautiful way to spend the day.