ATHENS, Ohio — Skaters and supporters of the annual Skate Jam Athens are invited to a free, all-ages fundraiser featuring skating, live music, food and beer this weekend.
The event will be held on Saturday, April 15, at Devil’s Kettle Brewing, 97 Columbus Road, Athens, from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Attendance is free for all, with a suggested donation of $5 to $10. All donations will go to fund the third annual Skate Jam Athens, scheduled this year for Sept. 23, and free youth programming at the Sojourners Youth Resiliency Center.
Local acts ToeCutter and Bozniak and Cleveland-area band GALVINS will play sets, and organizers are also hinting at a “secret set.” A pop-up street skate course will also be open, provided by Flipside Skateboard Shop on Stimson Ave. Devil’s Kettle Brewing brewed a “Skaterhosen” beer to support the Skate Jam, and its Devils Dogs & Sausages food truck will be open for the event. Screen-printed t-shirts and other merchandise, made by Sojourners volunteers, will also be for sale.
The initial Skate Jam, held in 2021, raised funds to cover a new brick bank at the skatepark, which the city opened in 2003.
The fundraiser, like the larger Skate Jam held at the skate park on the Athens Community Center campus, has the twin goals of funding maintenance and improvements to the skate park, and supporting the Sojourner center’s programs for local youth, aged 12-21.
These programs include a free program to learn how to skate, a food pantry, free laundry and showers, harm reduction services and services for youth experiencing homelessness. The center opened in Uptown Athens in 2020. It’s part of the Sojourners Care Network, a nonprofit based in Vinton County.
Organizers Andrea Baird, Emmett Mascha and Charlie Milter are introducing the free youth skate program next month, and hope to be able to expand it with funds raised between the two events. Those interested in taking part can contact the center at skatejamathens@gmail.com, or by walking into the resiliency center at 5 N. Shafer St. during their open hours of noon–7 p.m. Monday–Friday and 11 a.m.–2 p.m. on Sunday.
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