The inaugural Waikoloa Smash Jam community gathering this weekend will feature food, live music and skateboarding by both professionals and enthusiasts, and will offer the community an opportunity to weigh in on improvements to Waikoloa Skatepark.
“We just came in at the right time to … receive community feedback on what features and additions the community would like to see at Waikoloa Skatepark. Our goal is to improve and expand the skatepark,” said David Olajos, president of the Waikoloa Skatepark Ohana, the new nonprofit overseeing the maintenance and improvement of the skatepark since June. “Everything has just been synchronizing perfectly with our organization, it’s great timing.”
The Smash Jam will be held from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at Smash Daddy’s in Waikoloa Plaza.
Olajos said the free all-ages event began as a fun community party organized by Shawn O’Shaughnessy of Waikoloa Plaza eatery Smash Daddy’s. Olajos said O’Shaughnessy reached out to local musician Alan Kasameyer to help coordinate live music like Kasameyer’s punk trio, El Sancho, and Kasameyer suggested that the new nonprofit caring for the skatepark be brought in to maximize the event’s community impact.
“I have kids,and I live in Waikoloa. My kids grew up here,” said Kasameyer, who also goes by the stage name Al Sancho when he’s performing. “There’s not a lot to do here, so anything like a skatepark, you want to support it.”
Kasameyer said the previous nonprofit used to sweep leaves and pull weeds at the skatepark, but as kids grew up and stopped skating as regularly at the park, he saw the community group disband, leaving the skaters to tend to the park.
Kasameyer said he was happy when Olajos took over with the Waikoloa Skatepark Ohana because skateboarding is so important to the new nonprofit’s president, making it likely he’ll stay on and take diligent care of the site.
“I’ve been skateboarding all my life, so it’s just kind of my way of paying back,” Olajos said.
Olajos said that the nonprofit hasn’t laid out any specific plans for an expansion or new improvements to the skatepark yet, because they’re eager to hear what the community will suggest through the surveys that will be offered at Waikoloa Smash Jam.
In addition to giving feedback about desired improvements, community members also will be able to directly support the skatepark nonprofit by buying hats and T-shirts at the event, donating, or participating in a raffle to win gift cards from Waikoloa Plaza businesses, Kasameyer said.
“We want to focus on the skateboarding,” Kasameyer said. “We’re doing it from 4 to 9, and then I think we’re gonna start the music around 6:30 (p.m.) or 7, and we’re going to have a contest earlier in the day. Then I believe we’re going to kind of toggle between fans and the expos with the pro skaters.”
The professional skaters doing demonstrations will include three-time X Games gold medalist Chris Senn and his son, pro skater Julian Senn.
Kasameyer said O’Shaughnessy used his connections at Kona’s Youth With A Mission to provide ramps and build out a pop-up mini skatepark for the demos, community free skate, and skate competitions judged by personalities like Chris Senn.
In addition to Kasameyer’s band El Sancho, who will be releasing a new album at the event, Honolulu’s The Granite Saints will perform their political punk music reminiscent of Social Distortion, Kasameyer said.
He added that Smash Daddy’s will also be providing food and a full bar, and Selector Kaihewalu will be deejaying between sets in the evening.
“El Sancho … is expected to bring out the rockers. There’s going to be a lot of skaters, so it’s just going to be a great congregation of awesome people having a good time,” Olajos said.
Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
