Skateraid at East Decatur Station This Sunday!
Decatur Metro | September 23, 2011
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SkaterAid, a skateboarding, music and art festival, returns for a seventh year to Decatur this coming fall. The festival is unique in that it caters directly to teens. The festival features ramps, jumps and contests for skateboarders as well as demonstrations by professional skaters. Music is provided by teen bands from area high schools. A skateboard deck art auction is held throughout the day, with a selection of eye-popping art created by professional and “outsider” artists from used skateboard decks. All proceeds generated by the event are donated to families who are battling pediatric brain cancer. The event will be held Sunday, Sept. 25 from 2-7 p.m. at East Decatur Station, a business complex just west of the Avondale MARTA station at 109 New Street, Decatur, Georgia.
SkaterAid was started in 2005 to celebrate the life of Ian Wochatz, a Decatur teen and avid skateboarder who succumbed to brain cancer on July 4, 2005 at age 15. The event has now grown to become a tradition in the community. Several area businesses have pitched in to support SkaterAid, such as the Brick Store Pub in Decatur square, which provides food and beverages for the event and displays the skateboard art for several weeks prior to SkaterAid. Stratosphere Skate Shop in Little Five Points provides ramps, decks and prizes for the event as well as publicity and oversight of the skating portion of the event.
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Just back from this. I know it’s probably the lowest profile of Decatur’s festivals but, in many ways, it’s among its best because it’s so earnest. Take kids at their most obnoxious phase in life and let them channel all that energy into something immensely meaningful and valuable.
I’m a big fan of our arts fest, book fest, wine fest, beer fest, green fest, beach fest, and bbq fest, but something about SkaterAid gets me borderline choked up. It’s the epitome of what this grass-roots, taking-the-time-to-care city is about.
Congrats to all. I didn’t shred for Ian (because it would surely kill me), but I did drink for Ian. And that’s gotta count for something.
This was my very first event as a volunteer since moving to Decatur in August and I had a complete blast. I even got the girlfriend to volunteer in the art auction they had set up and we both had an amazing time! This is such a wonderful event and it’s for an amazing cause, I really recommend everyone getting involved in this next year.
I’ll definitely look forward to volunteering in more Decatur events in the future!