Freed Love

Free skate: Boards flew high at Emerica's Wild in the Streets rally on Second St.
Photo By: Michael T. Regan

by Mike Newall

Love Park is free. Hundreds of skateboarders maneuver the ledges, the edges, the benches. There are cheering crowds and music. People cool their faces in the fountain. This isn't just wishful thinking; it was the scene of last week's June 21 "Wild in the Streets," a skateboarding rally organized by skating apparel company Emerica in honor of National Skateboarding Day.

Roughly 1,000 area skaters met first at South Second Street between Lombard and South. The street had been closed down. Pyramid ramps and rails and manual pads were set up. Dudes did stunts. Pros like Kevin "Spanky" Long, Andrew Ellington, Heath Kirchart, and Matt Allen were on hand and skated for the crowd. There was no trouble, just skating.

"Bringing a lot of people out like this in a positive way," said Ellington, who traveled to the event from Los Angeles, "will hopefully show the mayor or whoever makes the decisions in this city that there's no harm in skateboarding. We're not a bunch of punks riding around breaking windows and spitting on old ladies."

"Today is all about community," added Mark Waters of Emerica. "Skateboarders have been ostracized in this city. Hopefully, by coming out like this we can enlighten the mayor of this city to change his way of thinking and open up Love Park." Other cities also had Wild in the Streets rallies, said Waters, but Philly was the main focus.

Shortly after 2 p.m. the skaters skated down Lombard, cut over to Arch, and headed for Love Park, where the biotech demonstrations (see next story) were already underway. Dozens of cops lined the park. The skaters arrived in style, cheering as they overwhelmed the outer edges of the park. One young dude climbed the LOVE sculpture, waved his board over his head and let out a rally cry. The cops allowed the skaters to use the perimeter of the park but refused to let anyone skate the inner ledges surrounding the fountain. The officers stood in the inner circle of the park, slapping billy clubs against the palms of their hands. The skaters did not test the cops' resolve and settled for the perimeter. After a few hours, the sun faded, the skaters left and Love Park was no longer free.