By City of Durham, Press Release:

Durham Parks and Recreation will hold a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for the new downtown skateboard park during the Earth Day Festival this Saturday. The ceremony will be held at the Eco Lounge on the Orange Street Mall at 2 p.m. as a part of the Skate-able Art and Skateboarding Demonstration conducted by Nik Spaulding, owner of Ujamaa Boardhouse.

• The skateboard park will be located at 502 Foster Street in Durham Central Park and will open later this year.
• The park was designed by Pillar Design Studios and will cost approximately $350,000.
• The project was funded through a combination of impact fees and 2005 general obligation bonds.
• The park will be a 10,000 square foot poured-in-place concrete public skateboard park. It will consist of both a quality engaging street area and transitional area with a bowl.
• Features include a floating quarter pipe, launch boxes, step-up bank, 3-seven step stairs with handrails, a street clam, and an 8 inch trog bowl.
• Construction is scheduled to begin in May and is projected to be substantially complete in October.

The Earth Day Festival will be held at the CCB Plaza and historic Parrish Street on Saturday, April 25 from 12 noon – 5 p.m. For more information about Earth Day, visit www.DurhamEarthDay.org. For information about the groundbreaking, contact Cynthia Booth at (919) 560-4355.

About Durham Parks and Recreation

Durham Parks and Recreation provides opportunities for the Durham community to “Play More.” The department strives to help citizens discover, explore and enjoy life through creative and challenging recreational choices that contribute to their physical, emotional and social health. To learn more about Durham Parks and Recreation, visit the department’s website at http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/parks.

Los Angeles, CA – éS and the éS Game of SKATE are calling you out. They know who you are. You’re the kid who is always filming or shooting photos of his friends at the local spot. You’re the kid who always keeps the local scene on everyone’s radar. You want a break in life and the chance to go on the road trip of a lifetime with a van full of like-minded skateboarders and maybe, just maybe, getting your foot in the door at a dream job in California. They know you’re out there. And they want you to enlist!

It’s the éS Game of SKATE Internship of a Lifetime contest! They are going to find three (3) of the best-qualified candidates to come along on the Official 2009 éS Game of SKATE tour and join them in making some skateboarding history. They need three skaters who fall into one of the following categories:

* An up-and-coming skateboard filmer with a camera and the best eye for composition since French Fred and the editing touch of Jon Miner and Mike Manzoori.
* An aspiring skateboard photographer.
* A writer/blogger who can weave words into paragraphs that leave us wishing we were reading a novel, not just the latest tour story of life on the road.

For more information, visit: http://esgameofskate.com

The Zoo York Institute is proud to announce that from July 24th-26th, the 2009 Zoo York AM Getting Paid (AGP) contest will be held at ‘Le Taz’ Skatepark in Montreal, Canada.

Presented by Monster Energy, Underworld Skateshop and SBC Skateboard Magazine, with additional support from New Era, Dakine, Transworld SKATEboarding, Exposé Magazine, 33mag, and Dose.ca, AGP is widely recognized as one of today’s most prestigious international skateboarding competitions for amateurs only with a hefty prize purse of $10,000 USD.

Established in 2004 by the Zoo Crew, AM Getting Paid is extremely important as it provides tomorrow’s pros with much needed support, experience and exposure within the global skateboarding community. AGP always brings out the world’s top ams to battle it out for the overall title and a healthy paycheck.

In celebration of AGP’s 5th Anniversary, this year’s contest will feature an exciting new jam format and move to the brand new 35,000 square foot ‘Le Taz’ Skatepark centrally located in downtown Montreal. Scheduled to open this spring, ‘Le Taz’ features a state-of-the-art indoor street course, lounges for competitors, media and VIPs, and it has plenty of room to accommodate the hordes of spectators and fans expected to attend.

So mark your calendar, because in four short months the 2009 Zoo York AM Getting Paid contest is on! Additional event updates coming soon.

To find out more, please visit: www.zooyork.com | www.amgettingpaid.com | www.underworld-shop.com | www.taz.ca

Electronic Arts, the makers of the award-winning Skate It videogame will hit retail stores starting November 19th in North America and November 20th in Europe for the Wii(TM) and Nintendo DS(TM). With intuitive Wii remote, nunchuck and DS stylus controls and the optional use of the Wii Balance Board, Skate It delivers a fun and unique skateboarding experience for skate fans and gamers of all ages.

Skate It brings gamers back to San Vanelona, a city that’s been safely evacuated, but left in ruins after being hit by a series of crazy events. Here, players are rediscovering their favourite spots, getting worked in Hall of Meat, and earning the opportunity to travel the world, all on their path to becoming Thrasher Magazine’s Skater of the Year. In Skate It, gamers will be able to make skate spots their own by moving objects like ramps, rails, and benches to fit their individual skating styles. The game also boasts a variety of multiplayer challenges, including Best Trick and Best Line, which will have players ripping it up with their friends as they prove their skateboarding prowess.

Skate It recently received the “Best Wii Game” award at the Games Convention tradeshow in Leipzig, Germany. Skate It was also nominated for Best Sports game for the “Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2008″. Skate It is developed by EA Montreal in Montreal, Quebec and Black Box in Vancouver, British Columbia and is rated “E” for Everyone by the ESRB and 7+ by PEGI for Wii and 3+ by PEGI for Nintendo DS.