Event Details: 

July 5 // Toby Eagle Bull Skatepark // Pine Ridge
July 7-9 // Levitt at the Falls // Sioux Falls

Grab your skateboard, and roll to the Levitt Shell for the first ever Innoskate in Sioux Falls—a free festival full of creativity, invention, collaboration, and skateboarding.

Levitt at the Falls collaborated with the Smithsonian Lemelson Center for Innovation and Invention, USA Skateboarding, Sioux Falls Skatepark Association, and more to bring the event to South Dakota.


“In Sioux Falls, the festival will kick off Thursday, July 7,” said Rose Ann Hofland, director of communications and community engagement for Levitt at the Falls. “We’ll have an opening panel discussion with some of the leaders from the skateboarding community and the Smithsonian about the scene for the weekend.”

Since the event corresponds with Levitt at the Falls, each night will have a free concert performance with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra on Thursday, Dessa on Friday, and Meet Me @ The Altar on Saturday.

The morning of July 8, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra will take the stage again with Jazz for Kids at 10:30 a.m.

“Then our festival really takes off,” said Hofland.


Levitt at the Falls + Innoskate Performances

July 7 // 7:30 p.m. // Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra
July 8 // 7 p.m. // Dessa
July 9 // 6 p.m. // A Visual Sound film
July 9 // 7:30 p.m. // Meet Me @ The Altar

Meet Me @ The Alter // Performs Saturday, July 9

In the Levitt parking lot, Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc. has arranged a Skater Village vendor market. Check out booths covering everything from clothing and art vendors to bike shops and Tech Decks.

There will also be food trucks and drinks from JJ’s Wine, Spirits, & Cigars.

“We’ll close down a portion of Phillips Avenue in front of the Jones421 Building to have a mobile skatepark, which the Sioux Falls Skatepark Association is creating for us with some local partners,” said Hofland.

“This is really an event to educate as well as inspire people to appreciate the cultural aspects of skateboarding and what it’s brought to the community.” – Rose Ann Hofland

The pop-up park will have an area for newbies to learn how to skateboard as well as an area with obstacles for seasoned skaters to practice their tricks and skills.

“There’ll be panel discussions happening throughout the day on different topics on skateboarding culture, innovation, and creativity,” said Hofland.

For anyone wanting to try something for themselves, the Lemelson Center is bringing engaging, hands-on activities based in areas of art, science, and more—all relating to skateboarding.

2014 Seattle Learn to Skate Clinic

“There’ll be a variety of festival activities between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Each of those evenings, we’ll have headlining performances happening at the Levitt.” – Rose Ann Hofland

“We are working with Rehfeld’s Art & Framing, Sioux Falls Skatepark Association, and Sioux Falls Arts Council to create an art alley so we’ll have visual artists creating throughout the festival as well as opportunities for people to participate in that art making process,” said Hofland.

On the final day, before the Saturday performance, there’ll be a viewing of A Visual Sound.

“Filmmakers Chris Pastras and Jason Lee from Stereo will be with us talking about the film and showing the film live, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra will be performing the score live,” explained Hofland.

The film is an influential film from the early ‘90s.

“It’ll be a really cool exploration of how these things intersect: the risk taking and the improvisation in jazz, and the innovation in skateboarding and filmmaking,” said Hofland.


Fact

South Dakota State University’s Wokini Initiative is one of Innoskate’s sponsors. The group supports Native students within the state college system according to Hofland.

A lot of the same style Innoskate activities will be available on July 5 at the Toby Eagle Bull Memorial Skatepark in Pine Ridge.

“Knowing the momentum around skateboarding culture in our community and the fact that we’re building a skatepark, it seemed like there’d be a unique and special fit for the Innoskate festival in Sioux Falls,” said Hofland.

Hofland says skateboarding also has a large presence in Native American communities across the nation and in the state. She adds that connecting to these Native communities has been essential for making Innoskate happen.

“We thought this would be a way to meaningfully bring our work to the Native skate communities and lift up what’s happening there,” she said.

For more information, visit LEVITTSIOUXFALLS.ORG.

 

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