The Bentway and Build for Bokma are thrilled to announce CITE, a summer-long celebration of skateboard arts and culture launching on June 30 and officially opening the Skate Trail for the season!

Opening weekend (June 30–July 1) kicks off with the reveal of a new art installation /skatepark featuring Semblance, skateable sculptures conceived and constructed by Build for Bokma which create a 3D terrain for boarders to ride on, as well as a site-specific art installation by artist and skateboarder Pascal Paquette.

Saturday June 30 features DJ sets by The Remix Project alumni, a marketplace of local skateboard merchandise, pop-up film screenings from TUFF (Toronto Urban Film Festival) and an open skate. Take a break at The Bentway Beer Garden with tasty treats from SPiN, Toronto’s Ping Pong social club.

On Canada Day, July 1, celebrate with more local DJ sets; live beats by Toronto-based DJ and producer Beat Sampras (7pm) and LA-based DJ and producer Peanut Butter Wolf (8:30pm); the marketplace and beer garden, where there will be Ping Pong and other outdoor games; skate demos and best trick showcase; open skate; and meet and greet with the pros, including Vans athletes Leon Chapdelaine, Una Farrar, Etienne Gagne, Annie Guglia, and Dustin Henry.

On subsequent weekends, CITE will also offer a variety of free workshops including learn to skateboard clinics for youth, building skate sculptures, videography, screen printing, and designing skateboards. Vans will also be onsite offering games, giveaways and more. The Skate Trail with the Semblance sculptures will be open and available for skateboarding every day from 10am-9pm. Saturday Skate Clinics are drop-in. Sunday Workshops require advance registration.

July 7-8: Youth Skateboarding Workshop with Skate Loft and Babes Brigade (July 7) and Videography Workshop with James Morley (July 8)
July 14: Youth Skateboarding Workshop with Skate Loft and Live Broadcast of the Vans Park Series 2018 Men’s Pro Tour from Vancouver

July 21-22: Youth Skateboarding Workshop with Skate Loft (July 21) and Designing Skateboards Workshop with Morning Bell Skateboards (July 22)
July 28: Youth Skateboarding Workshop with Skate Loft and Babes Brigade
August 4-5: Youth Skateboarding Workshop with Skate Loft (August 4) and Building Skate Sculptures Workshop with Gord Hardie (August 5)

August 11-12: Youth Skateboarding Workshop with Skate Loft (August 11) and Screen Printing Workshop with Baitshop, plus a skateboard-focused speaker series (August 12)

Artist and skateboarder Pascal Paquette uses street art, graffiti and photography in his site-specific and geographically-dependent installations. For CITE he has created Spent, a series of hanging banners to be installed on The Bentway columns depicting images of his hand-painted skateboards decks. Paquette’s work has been commissioned, published and exhibited locally and internationally including the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and in the USA, South Africa, Serbia, Switzerland, Mexico, France, Germany and England.

CITE is an opportunity to advance Build for Bokma’s mission to create a permanent memorial DIY skatepark, along with multifunctional interactive public art structures, in the name of Justin Bokma; to bring new audiences to The Bentway; and to serve Toronto’s new skateboard strategy to better integrate skateparks in the future development of the city.

CITE, co-produced by The Bentway and Build for Bokma and presented by Vans, with media partner VICE, runs from June 30 – August 12, 2018. The Bentway is supported by the City of Toronto and the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund (an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport).

For more information, and to register for CITE Workshops, please visit TheBentway.ca/CITE Social Media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using @TheBentway and YouTube #TOBENTWAY #CITE #SKATEBENTWAY