DeckedOut on MDI is UP!!!!!!

Check out the cool boards on display at the following locations:

BAR HARBOR:

Jesup Memorial Library

Spruce and Gussy

Cadillac Mtn Sports, Patagonia, North Face

Ranonndee Cafe

Cafe This Way

Reel Pizza

Morning Glory Bakery

Bar Harbor Bank and Trust Branches: Somesville, SWH, NEH, BH

and coming soon to Manset: Common Good Cafe……

decks waiting for distribution

and don’t forget to join us for the Opening Reception Wednesday July 14, from 4-7pm at the Jesup Memorial Library for refreshments and a kids art project!!!

Ramp Is Open!!!!

On July 3, 2010 our Temp Ramp finally opened for riding!!!! We had a great crew of volunteers who worked their butts off for two days straight, with the first ride around 8 pm on friday night. It was a big deal to finish on time, because Saturday was our huge July 4 event which takes place on the ballfield. (I know, it was only July 3, don’t ask). THANK YOU EVERYONE who came out to help!!!! Below are some picture of the build. Look forward to more pics from  Saturday – the ramp was busy all day, we had a big presence in the parade, and WE TOOK 3RD PLACE FOR YOUTH ENTRY!!!!! (We even got a trophy!) CONGRATULATIONS MDISA!!!!!

Attaching the coping

Some dudes had really good seats for watching.....

Putting on the skatelite

Open for Skating!!!!

DeckedOut on MDI!!

So plans are shaping up for the MDISA summer fundraiser DeckedOut on MDI!. We gave out 80 blank decks to local artists and asked them to do whatever they wanted to them…..they’re now coming back to us in the form of cool and divergent art, ready for show and auction this July and August! Here are the details:

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DeckedOut on MDI!: MDISA Skateboard Deck Art Show and Auction Events
Show: July 10-Aug 10, 2010 at various locations across MDI, including Reel Pizza, Cadillac Mtn Sports, Randonee Cafe, Jesup Library, Common Good Cafe, Morning Glory Bakery, and more…..
Open House Event: Jesup Library July  14, 4-7pm including children’s mini-deck art project,
On-Line Auction: Aug 1-10
Silent Auction/Show and Gala Event August 12, 5-8pm; Joy Building Lot NEH

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We’re gettting some really cool art, boards that will be rideable as well looking great on your wall, or wherever. Join us on July 14, from 4-7 pm and Jesep Memorial Library in Bar Harbor for the opening reception (it’s a family event, bring the small kids and they can decorate their own mini skatedeck, plus enjoy some refreshments), then travel around MDI and check it all out. More info to come later!

In the meantime, check out this cool video on the history of skateboard art:

Groundbreaking NEWS!!!

FINALLY!!!! I drove by the site today and whoa!!!! There were actually holes in the ground and posts sticking up out of the holes!!! For those of you who might not know, it’s been a frustratingly crazy process trying to get the holes dug for the mini-ramp. Things like augers being locked in sheds and the key out of town for a long weekend, people’s schedules not dovetailing, and simply being up against the challenge of depending on other people to connect, communicate, and find time to pull together the necessary resources. Some days I felt like we were up against some weird kind of community inertia, but today when I drove by the site I lost all my frustration. I never thought I would be so happy to see a bunch of holes in the ground! We are ON OUR WAY!!! So—–drive by and check it out, and keep checking back in to the blog for updates. At some point we’ll have community members help out with the final build phase – so we want you there to pound in a nail or two, and you can say you truly helped build the MDI Skate Ramp!

In other news – we’ll be in the July 4 parade again this year, and the more skaters/bikers/scooters the better! It helps to raise awareness for the bigger permanent concrete park we want to build. Come down to the ballfield by 9:45 am and look for us in the line-up, and join us for all or part of the parade. We’ll have a banner and candy to toss out to the crowd, and you get to do some tricks in front of a huge audience.

……..and lastly, things are coming together for our big summer fundraising SKATE DECK ART SHOW AND AUCTION: DeckedOut on MDI. We gave out 80 blank decks to local artists,  community members and students to design as they pleased and donate back to us to auction off as works of art. There are some very cool boards coming out of this. From July 10- August 10 these DECKS of ART will be showing at the Jesup Memorial Library, Reel Pizza, Cadillac Mtn Sports, NEH Library, and other MDI locations. From August 1-10 you can bid on-line, (more on that later) and then join us on August 12 in NEH for a final ART SHOW AUCTION & GALA EVENT.  Keep tabs on the blog for more cool info on all that.

and I almost forgot, we now have FaceBook Fan Page!! Check us out on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MDI-Skatepark-Association/122242074479741?ref=ts&v=wall

Some pictures of the skate jam on April 7 with MDISA

The April skate jam was a great time for all! The weather was perfect, and the skating was awesome. Here are a few shots that will sum up the skating for the day. Abrahm Malloy (top left) speeds down a ramp. Josh Malloy balances on two wheels (top right). Elijah Malloy ollies up a ramp (bottom left). Nathan flies over a jump.

New Board Members & Blank Decks are HERE!

MDISA welcomes two new board members this month: Aaron Mitchell and Rob Wheat. Aaron has agreed to serve as our Treasurer and will be helping to organize our accounting process and keeping track of donors. Rob works for Cadillac Mtn Sports as a buyer and brings a lot of knowledge of the industry, vendors, and equipment. Welcome! That brings our board to a total of ten, including  Dave LaValle, Karen Svenson, Dan Vashon, Lee Patterson, Jon Ho, Josh Malloy, Kevin Downey, and myself (Deborah Page).  All of these folks are putting in a ton of time and energy and thought towards this project; showing up for meetings, building ramps, cooking, getting donations, writing grants, and driving long distances! If skateboarding/youth recreation is important to you, and you know any of these people, please thank them for the hard work they do in support of this effort. Everyone appreciates being recognized for their work and commitment.  THANKS!!!

..and now, the BIG news for the summer:

MDISA is planning a big summer fundraising event to continue to raise money and awareness for a public park on Mount Desert Island. We purchased (cheap) almost 100 blank skate decks from a local mill and will be distributing them to area artists in the next few weeks. Artists can re-create the boards however they like, and with any medium. (We’ve got painters, sculptors, and photographers participating!) The completed art will be on display during the month of July at the Jesup Library in Bar Harbor and other locations across MDI. Stay tuned for more information about a kick-off event at the library, the on-line auction, and a closing silent auction and gala in August.

This will be a big event for us, so if you are interested in helping out, please let us know. We’ll need support to hang the show, create publicity posters, photograph decks for the on-line auction, provide food and beverage for the gala, and organize a kid’s art event. It will be a really fun event to be part of – and towards a great cause to bring skateboarding into the mainstream here on MDI.

By the way, I can’t take credit for this idea- a friend of mine in Bend, Oregon told me about a similar event in his town, and after some research I found a few other groups that have used this idea. Click on some of the links below to see some examples.

All for now- Deborah

http://www.examiner.com/x-23791-Phoenix-Autism–Parenting-Examiner~y2009m11d3-Skateboard-art-auction-to-raise-funds-for-autism
http://www.montanaskatepark.org/ondeck/gallery.php?albumid=5334644846787357009
http://www.divisionstreetskatepark.org/art-show-auction-push.html

THREE BAND & SKATE JAM!!

MDISA has put together a rocked-out lineup for this Saturday’s  (April 3) FUN-raiser at the Neighborhood House in Northeast Harbor! We’ll have the street blocked off at 3pm so you can skate some lines off our portable ramps until 6pm, then you can chow down on some really good spaghetti (cooked up by Dave and Jan) and garlic bread (thank you Morning Glory Bakery!!) while you wait to hear some really awesome bands starting up at 7.  Cluster Funk will show up with Wilt Jones, Mark Puglisi, Adam Rabasca, Nick Burnett, Steve Grubb and Keith Philips with a mixture of motown, 60′s classics, rock and some funk; Bump will offer up some standard rock-n-roll with Dave LaValle, Rob Levin, Kyle Avila, and Alex Wilkenson, and last but def not least the fantastic Batteries Not Included will play: Hamish Svenson,  Aidan Robichaud-Ward, Jack Sasman, and Thomas Palao – all 7th grade students from Emerson school in Bar Harbor. These are ALL LOCAL bands with great talent, danceable tunes, and fun attitudes – coming together for a great cause. We’ve got some other fun stuff too, T shirts and raffle items and a street luge up for silent auction! Skating at 3, dinner at 6 and music at 7pm. $5 under 18, $10 adults. (Hey, we know this won’t necessarily bring in a ton of money for us, so you can donate more if you want!) Don’t forget to bring your helmet if you want to ride!

Check back in here soon for more about what’s happening: New T Shirt designs from Cool As a Moose, upcoming design workshop, and our big summer fundraiser!!