Skate festival kicks off summer for teens
June 10, 2008
By Ari Cetron
For nine hours, just after the end of the school year, City Hall will be turned over to the teens of Sammamish.
The Parks Department, in conjunction with the Boys & Girls club, is sponsoring the Sammamish Skate Festival.
“There’s always a need for fun stuff for kids to do in Sammamish,” said Lynne Handlos, of the Sammamish Parks Department. “The end of the school year – what better timing?”
Handlos said the city had been planning some sort of teen-centric event for some time, and after seeing the popularity of the skate park, decided that a skate festival was the way to go.
So, the Parks Department reached out to the Sammamish Youth Board for help in planning the event.
“We’re teenagers, and we know what teenagers want to do,” said Lummy Lin, a Skyline junior.
The Sammamish Skate Festival was born.
The centerpiece of the early afternoon will be the skate competition, scheduled from 1-4 p.m. Categories will be divided by experience. There will be a registration fee of $5 for Sammamish residents and $20 for nonresidents. Participants under 18 will need a waiver signed by their parents, Handlos said.
The competition will be judged by skate industry professionals, and will feature prizes for the winners, including skate equipment, demo videos and passes to places, like Cold Stone and Lincoln Square, according to Lin.
For those not as interested in the skating, the event will have a host of other activities, Handlos said. There will be free food and games, like foosball, pool, pop-a-shot and video games, like “Dance, Dance Revolution.”
Then, as the day progresses, teens will be treated to a stream of more than four hours of live music, from some local high school bands to local favorites Talbot Tagora and Blue Scholars.
“It will be totally awesome,” Lin said. “You are going to have live music in your city. You can have this almost in your backyard.”
Handlos said that it will also give students a chance to meet teens from other schools. Since Sammamish straddles two school districts, this can help the students come together.
“The city and the youth board have a chance to integrate both school districts,” she said.
The festival is from noon – 9 p.m. June 20 and is open to teens ages 13-18 who live or go to school in Sammamish. They must provide proof of residency.
Admission is free. Controlled substances are forbidden. No backpacks or purses will be allowed. Overflow parking is available at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church.
If you go
Sammamish Skate Festival
Noon-9 p.m., June 20
Sammamish Commons (City Hall).
Skate competition registration is $5 for Sammamish residents; $20 for nonresidents.
Admission is free.
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I don’t see the actual date mentioned…