Skaters for Portland Skateparks held what I hope is the first of many Skateboard Swap Meets on Monday. It was free to enter, and setting up a table only cost a very modest $10 with a 10% of sales set as a suggested donation towards the Powell Blvd Skate Spot. The picture above was taken early on in the event, and it did get quite busy. As most other vendors there, I didn’t know what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying it. I hope they make this a monthly or semi-monthly thing. I expect it become popular and quickly outgrow the space we were in at Luck Labrador Brewing. Minors were allowed, either because the event was in a separate room or maybe because it is also a restaurant. I unloaded a bunch of potential landfill from my basement. There was some interesting stuff there including boards from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, stacks of old VHS tapes, art, and shirts. Game Stolz had some of his own Oregon-pressed Chupakabruh Skateboards as well as these Vitamin Water-branded promo skateboard wheels that were from about 5-7 years ago. That stuff belongs right here on Skate and Annoy. Bonus:…

Lowcard has footage of the Junk Jam put on in by Jivaro and others a couple weeks ago. Don’t let the edit make you think this was sparsely attended,because it was packed full of people, and a lot of fun, even for old-timers. I have to take issue with Lowcard’s description of the venue as an “underutilized schoolyard,” because if you actually live in the neighborhood you’d see it packed with kids on occasion, even when school isn’t in session. Of course, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t use some permanent skate fixtures. Junk Jam was rad. All kinds of things to skate for all skill levels.

You’re looking at a quarter pipe with a final surfacing made of recycled skateboards, put together by Maple XO for an event called Go Skate PDX to be held at Gallery 135 in Portland on June 21st. It’s an art show to benefit public skateparks in Portland. More pics and flyer after the jump.

Polk Museum in Lakeland, Florida has partnered up with the Smithsonian Museums Innoskate Progam to celebrate Go Skate Day all weekend: Join professional skateboarders and Smithsonian representatives in exploring the intersection of art and innovation through the lens of skateboarding culture. Events will include skating, clinics, panel discussions and more — at the Lakeland SkatePark on Lake Bonny (from 9 a.m.-noon) and Team Pain obstacles, skateboard art exhibitions, panel discussions and demonstrations at PMoA (from 1 to 3 p.m.). Flyer and schedule after the jump.

BCSA skatepark benefit show this weekend in Corvallis, OR at a place called Cloud & Kelly’s Public House in downtown Corvallis. 21 and over, 3 good bands, all proceeds go to the skatepark project.

Portland’s DOS Bowl is going through some changes. The new name Trusty Bowl, reflects the new management – Trusty Switchblade. The bowl will now be open to the public on certain days, including a monthly BMX only night. The changes are necessary to keep the whole thing afloat year round. Membership dips drastically in the spring and summer, and the guys on the lease have to foot the bill. If you want specifics, you can ask all the questions you want at the Open House this Saturday, April 5th from 5-8. Members only party afterwards.

Blockparty was an event held last summer in Hamburg, Germany that featured Blockparty Entertainmen and the Hambrug Crew. They built an odd triangular track that even had a temporary fountain incorporated into it. Live DJ and a party too, plus a great Devo song used in the video. – Thanks to Dennis Stoecker for the tip.

Sometimes I get PR for industry events, and sometimes I take them up on their offer to attend the event under the guise of “covering it,” which usually means I get in free with my kids, and we all enjoy it for the most part. It’s fun, but I’m not paying for it, and I can take it or leave it each time. Sometimes I feel guilty, not for the big corporation, but for the freelance PR agent that gave me the press credentials and got essentially nothing from it. I hope that doesn’t affect your job performance review. To make up for it, here are some photos from the San Francisco stop of the Dew Tour. Thanks to Lorrie Palmos for sending these in. You might remember her from her long standing “Shot of the Week” that’s been up since June. It might be time to retire that part of the web site. (The SOTW curator spot is open!)

Rip City Skate grand reopening on Friday. This thing should be skateable by then. Yeah, it’s a blurry cell phone shot, sorry. Maybe there’s something to those Nokia commercials. The new location is kind of accross the street from Jiffy Lube. It’s basically a half a block south of NE 33rd and Sandy Blvd. UPDATE: Added a little video of the event.

Nike SB is now one of the major sponsors of Street League Skateboarding. Next stop is Portland, Oregon this Sunday. Nike’s team put on a little demo yesterday at the world headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. This morning this big skateboard was parked out back. A few shots of the event after the turn.