This week was a pretty busy week in the pre-planning of The Board Meeting 2012. We've got a large, weatherproof, and inviting venue (thanks to Bob at Ollie's Skatepark in Florence, Kentucky for agreeing to be our host)... a firm date set (Saturday, April 14th, 2012)... and, a whole lotta time to kill until next spring. In the meantime, there's at least a zillion little details that need to be ironed out and attended to.
Thankfully, Michael Brooke of Concrete Wave Magazine volunteered to step in, and help out in any way that he can. As did Lew Ross over at Fickle Skateboards. So if this is an epic fail, I'll take all the blame. But if this experiment in anarchy actually works out, then they'll probably deserve all the credit.
Everything Skateboarding's main role in all of this is to get flyers to as many midwest shops as possible, before March 1st... well in advance of the show. This one is gonna start trickling out of here this week, and emphasises that this show is probably gonna end up being whatever the participants want it to be, and not really whatever we're trying to achieve with it. "Let anarchy reign...!" That's our motto, and we're sticking to it...
The biggest question of the week has been,"Well, what exactly is it gonna be...!?" Skate session? Trade show? Demo? Party? Industry seminar? Retailer workshop...? In all honesty, it's probably going to end up being little bits of all those things. Just due to the fact that everybody's invited. And when I say "everybody", I quite literally mean "everybody". Everybody from the newest of newbie skaters, all the way to the biggest company successs story.
Just in terms of skateboarding awesomeness... this will probably be the must-do event of the year. We intentionally planned it for the early, early spring, to kick off the 2012 skate season right. The biggest perks will be seeing old friends skating together at one place, and letting everyday kids hang... and, skate... with the best skaters the midwest has to offer.
The other major bonus will be that, for once, we'll (hopefully) get all of these little skate scenes that are all over the midwest together, and doing a little bit of networking to get a "greater midwest skate scene" happening.
As for "The Rules", they're pretty simple: The cost for the day is $18... the standard Ollies all-day-skate-pass price... the only exceptions being skate retail buyers (who will be getting in for free, as our way of saying "thanks for being an independent retailer"), as well as a few freestylers that I'm trying to bring in for a demo (which would probably be the first "freestyle demo" that the midwest has seen in decades).
The second rule is pretty simple: Respect Bob, and his skatepark. Which is hopefully just plain-'ol common sense, anyway.
And lastly: Have a damn good time.
As for potential exhibitors: For anyone that wants to see a more "organized" trade-show happen... the rules are still exactly the same. The cost is $18 (per person) at the door, and you're free to set up whatever you want, however you want. Tables, tents, a BBQ pit, whatever. Sending in an RSVP with your intentions, however, might be a really good idea. Especially if it's something unusual, or outlandish. As an exhibitor, you're responsible for your own tables, chairs, tents, labor, security, staffing, breakdown, and cleanup. We didn't make our motto "Let anarchy reign...!" for nothing, you know.
Stay tuned to Everything Skateboarding for more news, notes, and updates as we think of'em. Until then, stay cool.
