Skateboarders look to artists for support

Leading up to their art show and free skate Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5, organizers of the Epworth United Methodist Church Skate Project recently announced a poster contest open to all ages to raise awareness for the local skate community.

Original designs for an 11x17-inch poster in any media that illustrate this year's theme, "What one empty lot could be," will be accepted through April 22 at Liquid Boardshop on Route 1 with a completed entry form, also available at Liquid or online.

On Saturday, May 4, an art show and silent auction will be held at Liquid Boardshop with as many as 20 local artists who support the skate community donating work to raise funds for a future skate park.

The following day, Epworth UMC will hold a Free Skate Day, one of several held each year since the church made its parking lot available for skaters to create a temporary skate park after repeated attempts to organize a permanent park have been unsuccessful.

Organizer Susan Selph said the poster contest is part of the overall movement by the skate community to raise funds and awareness for a skate park.

"Skateboarding has become such a mainstream sport when people come to our area they don’t ask if we have a skate park,  they ask where the skate park is," Selph said.

With the growth of the Epworth UMC Skate Project, addition of more skate days and community involvement, she hopes one day a skate park in the Cape Region will be a reality.

"We had a lot of really great support," Selph said. "I think they understand that there is a need."

For more information, visit the Epworth UMC Skate Project webpage at www.eumcrb.org/sk8 or stop by Liquid Boardshop at 19406 Coastal Hwy Rehoboth Beach.