By Nee Narayanan

The Southside Music and Skateboarding Series was born out of the mind of Marc Blackwood who saw the Mount Rainier skate park, across the street from Red Dirt Studio, and the few kids who would frequent it, as being underutilized and ignored. He envisioned a series of skateboarding events where community could come together, enjoy live music, skate, grill, mingle and eat. With the help of artists J.J. McCraken and Margaret Boozer and the support of Red Dirt Studio, the event was an incredible success. People walked, skated, or rode bikes to the park where Blackwood’s band, Lee Blackwood and Graham, played music while Red Dirt Artists graciously allowed the public to use their grills outside of the studio. The energy and dynamic of the park was changed from an ignored cement structure, littered with cigarette butts and abandoned beer bottles, to a vibrant space where people could gather, sit, talk, skate, watch and enjoy feeling “a part of.”

In 2014 with increased funding for creative placemaking efforts in the Gateway Arts District (GAD) from ArtPlace America, Art Lives Here partners were thrilled to receive a second proposal from Blackwood for a continuation of the Southside Music and Skateboarding Series. Blackwood proposed three events, but this time with additional interactive community service components. He sought to provide greater structure of engagement for the young, mostly male, skaters who are largely disengaged with all the services the GAD has to offer.

The Brentwood Arts Exchange, an Art Lives Here partner and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) art center came forward to fund, produce, and coordinate planning the three events, engaging their Xtreme Teens program to provide production support and information at all three events.

Photo by Nee Narayanan[/caption]

The first event hosted live demonstrations by DC Wheels in which kids skated with pros, the second event with a The M-NCPPC Parks and Recreation produced skate competition and a free deck-painting workshop, while the last event provided a free to enter competition. Phil Davis, Acting Director of the Brentwood Arts Exchange, states “what made the events successful is that all kinds of people came out, young, old, families, you name it – all hanging out together in one place to enjoy music and skateboarding.”

The story of the Southside Music & Skateboarding Series is particularly compelling because of the story behind the development of the Mount Rainier Skate Park. During the last event mid-way though the skateboarding competition the MC took a moment to pause and asked all the competitors, ranging from ages 10 to mid-twenties, to take a moment to raise their decks to artist Margaret Boozer, showing thanks and respect for her role in the creation of the Mount Rainier Skate Park. Two young men ran up to present her with a deck that had been signed by all the skaters.

The story is this: when Boozer first moved into her studio space on Otis Street, now known as Red Dirt Studio, there were only a few kids hanging out in the basketball court with a couple dilapidated hoops across the street. These kids, out of spite, boredom or both, took to throwing rocks and shouting obscenities at Boozer and her fellow Red Dirt Artists. Instead of getting mad, Boozer engaged with the kids, engaged with the community, and pushed for the basketball court to be replaced by a skate park. The M-NCPPC stepped in, held community meetings to plan the park, paid for, and built it. Thus, Mount Rainier Skate Park was born. What makes this story particularly special, is that the two young men who sprinted up to present Boozer with the signed deck, where two of the original kid who threw rocks and shouted at the artists. Our community is filled with such stories of creative leadership.

Photo by Nee Narayanan[/caption]

Attendance at the events started with 100 and grew to more than 150 on the final day. It’s worth making this an annual event and keeping the momentum of this partnership to bring a broader part of our community to an under-utilized public park space.