If your a skateboarder here in Seattle as you read this then you should start feeling pretty damn lucky.  The temperatures have been down and the rain has let up which means the streets are dry and it’s time to skate!
 In and around the heart of downtown there is a thriving scene that can’t be pinned down.  Why?  Because its always morphing from curb to curb, street to street, and spot to spot.  Mainly this happens from the excessive security which most buildings employ to keep the skaters and bad doers at bay. Well it’s been ingrown into the Seattle skaters for so long it doesn’t phase the average kid who is pretty familiar with the in and outs of riding downtown and getting harassed by ‘the man’.  The older and wiser skaters even have the amount of time it takes for security to come crashing in pegged so they know wen to split before getting busted.  They even have the escape routes planned so it’s impossible for security to catch more than one person.
 But if your not that aggressive of a skater there is still the old faithful crappy skatepark down under the space needle.  It has been up every summer for the last four or five years and hosted many a beginners training session on Saturday morning, professional demo, contest, party, etc.  Every year the park seems to get worse than the year before and the ability of the skaters gets better!  What Seattle needs is a real good park with terrain for all types of skaters because the skaters are very frustrated at the respect they get. ( Just imaging having a million dollar basketball court open up across the and all the kids get is a beat up old recycled from yesteryear ramp set up.)  The Seattle Center and City of Seattle have become notoriously known for not wanting a good park to draw in more skaters.  But Kevin Cortez reports that there may be a glimmer of hope off in the distance and 3rd Hit magazine is having a skatepark design contest in hopes of getting some cement poured in the future. Let us all pray!

 If your equipped with wheels then the options begin to open up in a hurry.  There are about 6 great free parks within 30 minutes of downtown Seattle.  Des Moines, Silverdale ( ferry ride ), Kent, Issaquah, Redmond, and one of the best parks Bellevue.  There will also be a few more opening nearby in the near future.  All you have to do is pull up the Skateboard Northwest website (www.halcyon.com/skatenw) or Sleestak online (www.indyrock.com/sleestak) and skate into the parks page where you can get photo’s, directions, and reviews of the northwest skateparks.  Most of these are free and open from dusk til dawn.  Better yet pack up a sleeping bag and head out for some of the far away ones.  Your sure to get an adventure by just traveling to a new spot.

 There are also a few big music festivals that offer a skateboarding demonstration of sorts.  The Warped Tour which came through town on July 7 was a great one for skateboarding and music.  (tr)Endd Fest usually has a fair demo, and this year I’ve heard rumors that Bumpershoot may also have a vert ramp demo.  There are also many local events happening at most of the local spots, best bet there is to check with  your local skateshop to get the scoop.  You can also find out some real good info by visiting the websites mentioned above, or checking out the local coverage in Concrete Disciples Skatemag or 3rd Hit.
 The summertime was made for fun!  Skateboarding may only play a small part of it or it may be the whole she-bang. It’s all up to you.  Be safe. Be smart. Be adventurous. (hypocritically) Don’t drink and skate. Watch out for them rollerbladers!

  -Concrete D. - Spring 1998