Time for another PDX airport post. This poster is in one of the revolving doors at departures, maybe others too. Shop local, at the airport I guess.

Huge news for PDX. Cal Skate has been a fixture in the Portland, Oregon skate scene since 1976. Other shops have come and gone, some loved, some not so much, but Cal Skate has always endured. Chris Nukala has been hanging around or working at this shop since he was 8 years old, and now he is officially the new owner. Former owner Howard Weiner was instrumental in promoting skateboarding in Portland. One local shop famously wouldn’t get behind the Skaters for Portland Skateparks program because the first park wasn’t going t one built near their shop. Not the case for Howard… Chris has been and will continue to be an advocate for skateboarding in Portland, above and beyond measures that just affect his shop. Did I mention he’s a music promoter too? I’ve known Chris since he was probably 14 years old. We would sometimes take him to contests and even “sponsored” him for a bit. He was always so eager when it came to skateboarding. It truly couldn’t have happened to a more deserving or hard working individual. Congrats to Chris, and congrats to all of us in Portland. Source: Willamette Week

The age old tale… The session looks good, the concrete has dried and cured but the park is closed until the landscape architects are done with the finishing touches. Enjoy some over-the-fence pics that I took after leaving the soft opening of Parklane a month to the day from today. Is it open now? Head over to Berrydale park in NE Portland and find out. Those are giant sacks filled with something heavy to keep people from skating it. Is it rocks or sand? I don’t know because I stayed behind the fence like a good boy. That bowl looks fun to me, not very deep. Public skateparks are popping up like weeds in Portland.

Shout out to Eastside Roll-In, a skate shop that just opened in Troutdale, Oregon, and the same place I picked up these Wipers tribute wheels from Portland-based Jivaro. If you’re hankering for more Wipers, check out Jackpot Records (label and store) that re-released Is this Real on vinyl for the first time since it’s original 1980 issue, as well as their live album from 1984.

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.

Changing times ahead for Burnside with new construction within spitting distance. It will interesting to see if the locals can make it work with their new neighbors, who are undoubtedly going to be used to a less Burnsidey atmosphere. The property taxes are definitely going to give the owners some clout with city hall. In the meantime, Burnside needs lights, and they’ve got quite a ways to go to reach their target, so consider donating.

Khunamokwst skate spot is a lot of fun. It’s small, and tricky to navigate when overrun with kids, but everyone seems to love it. There’s a problem with the sprinkler overspray, but when have landscapers and skateparks ever worked well together? Some kids can’t seem to walk the extra 40 feet to the nearest garbage can, which is unfortunate. Then there’s the somewhat arbitrary placement of skate stoppers on the outside of the park. I get it. They’re trying to protect pedestrians from errant skateboarders on the outside ledge. It’s still amusing though. You can session the hell out of this one specific section of the continuous outside ledge, but not the largest stretch of it. Even though it’s the same ledge… on a skatepark.

Portland brewery Hopworks has traditionally been bike-centric in their marketing. Recently I heard they were trying to engage skateboarding more. I thought I saw an image of Sasquatch riding a skateboard a few weeks ago but I can’t find it. It might have had something to do with their Sasquatch Strong Ale or possibly Abominable Winter Ale. Now there’s Nonstop Hef Hop, featuring a bunch of “playtime” activities on the can, some more athletic than others, I mean seriously, corn hole? I have not seen this beer in the wild, but I’m looking forward to collecting the skateboard version of this can, even though the art direction in this series is a little sterile. What they really need to do is establish an advertising presence on some sort of local Portland-based skate blog, if such a thing exists. – Thanks to Pete Lewis for the tip.

Rain did not slow down the first pour of the newest skatepark in Portland. Billy Tavita Jasper and others on the Evergreen crew were hard at work. Please appreciate the new R.E.I. skatepark tent tarp which can not be deployed without a backhoe. G.V.K. out