Skateboarders practice tricks between rounds during the Halloween Skate Jam & Costume Contest Saturday at Augusta Skate Park in Williams Park.  Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — It was all tricks and some treats at the Halloween-themed skate jam hosted by the Maine Skateboard Association at Williams Park on Saturday afternoon.  

The event attracted skaters of all ages and skill sets for a “skate jam,” where skaters show up with their boards, skate to music played by a DJ and show off their best tricks. If they are lucky, they might leave with a treat in the form of swag from the local creators. 

A few skaters traded their wide-leg Carhartt pants, graphic T-shirts and beanies for Halloween costumes, which included an old-fashioned jail uniform and banana hat, and skated for several hours at Williams Park. 

The event is one of a few yearly free events put on by the Maine Skate Association, a nonprofit that aims to promote skating to the younger generation and make it accessible by building skateparks across the state. By having a free event, anyone can participate. 

“This is all part of our community building — we want to encourage kids and promote skating in a positive light. So many times, skating can be painted in a negative light, but we are all trying to promote it and encourage kids to get involved,” said Josh Bankhead, one of the founding members of the association.  

Henry Elias, 10 of Sidney, practices a trick during the Halloween Skate Jam & Costume Contest Saturday at Augusta Skatepark in Williams Park.  Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Though the Augusta Skate Park is not new, the nonprofit helps install skate parks and consults with construction companies in the building process. The group will often show up at town planning board meetings to help with consultation and involvement.

Most recently, the association helped with skate parks in Brunswick, Waterville and Farmington, which Tobias Parkhurst, chairperson of the nonprofit, said has brought skaters out in droves to the parks. Installing the parks gives children, teens and anyone else who skates a safe place to enjoy. 

Parkhurst said he has seen families at the center of the sport, with the original skating generation from the ’90s starting their own families and getting their children involved. He said it’s the case with him and several members of the Maine Skateboard Association. 

“The skateparks are built and you have classes of kids that show up and start skating. Before you know it, they are 20 years old and other generations have come behind them and they are still at the park. It’s just what happens. It’s like, how big would the basketball community be if you don’t have any hoops?” said Parkhurst. 

And having a new skate park is exactly how Bobby Gray, a middle school librarian and secretary of the association, got involved in skating in 2001 at 9 years old. He said having the skatepark open caused skating to “explode” in the area, and he still visits the new Brunswick Skate Park several times a week.

Now, he wants to help create a skate club at Mt. Ararat Middle School, like he did at his former school, Chelsea Elementary School.

“Before that we just skated in the basement, and the park made it more accessible. That’s our goal. I still go to Brunswick two to three times a week and skate, and it’s youngest kids and guys in their 50s and beyond, but it’s a great community,” Gray said after participating in the event.

Though she was one of the youngest competitors in the skate jam, Allie Day, 10, got involved in skating through her father and stepmother.

She was one of several children who turned out for the event and said she skates several times a week. She even designed her own skateboard. 

“My favorite thing to do skating is mess around and do things,” she said.  

Bonnie Durham drops into the bowl during the 14-and-over jam at Halloween Skate Jam & Costume Contest on Saturday at Augusta Skate Park in Williams Park.  Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Another skater, Bonnie Durham, got involved in skating by the help of her then-five-year-old son, Ovid Gatlin, now 12.

She started longboarding next to him and when he showed interest, they got their boards and went to the skatepark.

Now, in a typically male-dominated sport, Durham started her own group in the Portland area called “Drop-in” where the group encourages girls and women to get involved in skating. At their first event a few weeks ago, they had donation-based lessons to raise money for lights at the Portland Skate Park.

“Only the Brunswick Skate Park and Old Orchard Skate Park have lights,” she said. “What if we want to skate past 4:30 p.m.?”

Skating together is one of their favorite activities. They skate separately, still, but it’s a way for them to be together.

“It’s the best. I don’t know how to describe it. Some parents go biking or hiking with their kids, we go skating,” Durham said.