Skaters get their chance to shred downtown Ventura at pre-X Games skate jam

For one evening and one evening only, the downhill stretch of California Street between Ventura City Hall and Main Street was a skateboarder’s paradise.

White barricades blocked off half the block Thursday evening, giving skaters ample space to make runs at a series of ramps, rails and other obstacles tacked together with scraps of plywood and touched up with splashes of orange spray paint.

“This is a dream,” said Oxnard resident Jaime Nakamura. The 28-year-old grew up skating, but said local governments weren’t always fans of the street style he loves.

“It was illegal," he said. "It’s sick to see (something like this).”

As it did last year, the downtown skate jam helped the city of Ventura usher in the X Games, which returned to the Ventura County Fairgrounds from Friday through Sunday.

The skate jam was sponsored by the city and Downtown Ventura and hosted by Ventura’s BlackHole Skate Shop.

“I’m getting to see so many faces,” said Mike Anderson, BlackHole’s owner and a pro street skateboarder. Anderson didn’t ride for most of the evening; dozens of skaters and hundreds of spectators took up his attention.

“It’s all worth it if this gets some little kid to start skating,” he said.

Mixed in with the crowd of local veterans and out-of-towners were a swarm of younger skaters.

Mark Hardin, 8, was undaunted by the jam and made several runs at the largest of the ramps with a boost from his 34-year-old father of the same name.

The family regularly drives to Carpinteria’s skate park to ride but is looking forward to the expanded park coming to West Park in Ventura.

For more than two hours, the skaters flowed through, up and over the ramshackle obstacles, spilling as often as they stomped their landings.

Gary Cease, 46, of Ventura, looked on after finishing a few runs of his own. He had helped build the course earlier in the day, putting finishing touches on several ramps before the skaters took off. In the crowd of familiar faces waiting their turn at the top of the hill, he saw family.

“I get goosebumps having this much fun at my age,” he said.

Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.