A rad’ grab and grind event for local skateboards July 5 at the Billie Johnson Kingston Skate Park will heat up the cement with skateboarding competitions and live music.
Sk8 Rollick offers contests for technique and flair in three age groups at beginner and advanced levels, followed by a raucous and diverse concert lineup of five bands.
There will be a $5 entry fee for competitions with registration beginning at 11 a.m. Contests hit the ramps at noon and run through 4 p.m. Participants are required to wear helmets and all rules of the skate park will be observed. There’s no charge to watch the contests or hang out for the live music.
There will be a small stage set-up for bands and a sound system to give some groove to the skaters’ grind. The concert follows the competitions from 4-8 p.m.
The band line-up, programmed by Bill Mickelson of the Kitsap News Group’s What’s Up arts and entertainment section, will feature an unnamed Seattle-based exhibitionist scratch artist “getting wicked on the turntables,” followed by the eclectic, electric Kingston group All of the Olives, “mashing the elements of experimental down tempo and trip hop.” The seasoned Bremerton band Neutralboy drops in next with “straight-ahead punk rock stylings” to round out their West Coast tour and then Mickelson’s Triple Forte brings on an “ardent amalgamation of punk, ska, reggae and rock.” Lick Like a Lion picks up the headlining slot, playing instrumental jams with their a seven-piece band of drums and djembe, synthesizers and six-string.
Organizers of Sk8 Rollick are Dan McDougall, his brother Matt McDougall, Kes Anderson, Peter Wickstrom and John Perry, local homegrown guys who helped create the Kingston Skate Park, built in 2000. They’ll serve as the skate contest judges.
As ninth-graders at Kingston Junior High, they organized a skate club and fired up a community effort to make their dream a reality that could be shared by other skateboarders for years to come and give kids a place to practice and gather. Sk8 Rollick is another way they want to give back to local youth, offering an event that kids can participate in after the focus on the Fourth of July is over.
Sponsors include Randy Can, Northernwave, Snowboard Connection, Ottercraft, Chinook Properties, Systemix Apparel and Kitsap County Facilities, Parks and Recreation. The Kingston Skate Park is located at 26200 Lindvog Road.
For more information, contact Dan McDougall at (360) 271-5530 or dansmcdougall@gmail.com.
