Meanwhile, closer to home. There’s a benefit BBQ this Saturday the 7th for the Brooklyn Street Skate Spot in Portland. I have to admit I chuckled when I first heard there was a benefit for this tiny spot. This picture is old, actually, but I just heard they’ve hit a snag. The original organizers were engaging the community, taking it somewhat slow. Apparently some individuals decided to kick it into overdrive without scoping out the situation, allegedly tearing up sidewalks (?) and as a result the cops (who were already in the loop) shut it down and the whole thing needs permits now. Pretty much all of the neighbors are on board except for one business owner, who appears to prefer broken glass, garbage and the occasional syringe to pastoral scenes like a mother reading a book on the steps while her son skates, nearly a week after the spot first appeared. True story. Flyer after the jump. No alcohol please, they’re trying to present a positive image to the neighbors and the city.

Guess what? It’s Turf week on Skate and Annoy. All Turf, all the time. We have a campaign going to help save Surfin’ Turf/ The Turf skatepark here in Milwaukee, WI. We even went so far as to dig out one of the bowls last night and made it on the 10:00 news. Details about whats going on, a video of the news story, and most importantly what people can do to help save the park are all at beercity.com. More information and the video after the jump. UPDATE: It’s been filled in. I don’t know how this effects the big picture.

Martin Defatte sent in some more pictures from the digging effort at the Turf. These were actually from late Wednesday, but I couldn’t get to processing them until now. Martin said the cops showed up that evening which put a damper on things, but the bright side is, there’s all kinds of positive publicity now, and what could have been just an epic session for a bunch of hard working guys may possibly evolve into a more permanent solution. Please contact the wisco DOT, as they are currently in charge… Here is the phone #: (608) 266-1114 Here is the email: Frank.Busalacchi@dot.wi.gov Take 5 minutes and shoot them a friendly email, note the historical significance as well as the potential tourism dollars. We need your help! I may have left the Midwest for the land of amazing skateparks, it’s my home now with a capital “H” but right now my heart is in WIsconsin. Thanks again to Martin.

Contest this Saturday, August 7th in Redmond, Oregon, sponsored by local favorites like Pure Skate Shop and Schnar Skateboards.

Never saw this Nash board back in the day. Mazed and Confused. HILARIOUS! They must have had some clever bastards in the art department. Carl Warren captured this one in the wild at Gabriel Park.

Seeing this made me wish I could afford to take the rest of the week off and fly back to be a part of this. Josh Ellis has a bunch of photos up on Wiskate.com that are going to give you a warm fuzzy. So it’s the Shot of the Week here on Skate and Annoy, but all the action is in Wisconsin. Beer City has another installment too.

Polson, Montana was my last stop on my mini Montana tour. Again, much smaller overall footprint than I thought from seeing previous pictures. I almost forgot to mention in all this, when looking up all these skateparks in Montana, the first link to come up was usually NorthwestSkater.com. Want to see what I mean? Try Googling “Polson Montana Skatepark.” Polson Montana’s skatepark was built by Dreamland, and it’s a fine park. I remember somebody, somewhere bitching about the hood on that cradle, saying it was a waste of money that could have been spent on something else. I’m pretty sure that was in the same conversation that someone was complaining about Whitefish…

Mike And Justin succeed where few have. The have been in the skate retail business for 5 years know. According to the Government. If you can stay in business that long you are a success. Well no matter what the government or Shaun White says I like these guys. All though I have only spent an average of maybe 10 dollars a year there. They are a hit with the skate crowd. Tune Drop out and spend some money here… Help start the economy and buy something GVK Out

The Maloof Money Cup will be broadcast live on Fuel TV August 7th and 8th. So much for environmentally friendly skateboard contest facilities. I give these guys credit for donating the park in NYC earlier this year, but it’s one step forward, one step back. I believe the Orange County stop is a another temporary concrete facility that will be destroyed after the event. Sources tell us that there’s an actual permanent facility within a mile of this temporary one. Maybe it’s not up to par, but why not improve it, or god forbid, build another permanent one where it’s really needed. I hear this is supposed to pay homage or outright duplicate some famous spots. That volcano looks a little reminiscent of Sadlands, not that I’ve ever been there. See for yourself on the web cam. – Thanks to KC for the tip.

Just another skate church, so I wouldn’t normally feature it were it not for the fact that this one is youth led, and well, this horribly awkward photo they used to illustrate it. Actually, as far as skate photos go, it blows. But if you look at the enlargement, something about the guy in the background watching this kid flail is appealing. Read about it in the Seattle Times. – Thanks to Heidi Randall for the tip.