I AM SNOWBOARDING Art Opening comes to NEMO, Portland

Did I catch Josh Dirksen mid-slap?

A snowboard party crashed into an art opening last night; Friday, January 8; at Nemo design's HQ in southeast Portland. Hoodies and beanies packed the hallway by the hundreds, all less than an arms length from a complementary cup of something alcoholic. Jeff Anderson was on everyone's mind as it was his memorial art collaboration for  was the root of all the good times. Two-artist collabos decked the hall and fascinated all.

A sampling of the art on display.

The place was crammed to the point of claustrophobia with snowboarders, artists, photographers, writers and all the usual Portland shred suspects. You couldn't drop a beer cup without some local shred head catching it and drinking the last sip. Rather than bore you with a list, I'll just refer you to Brooke's post on Yobeat, she took care of that for me.

The couple that I would like to comment on are Jamie Lynn and Terry Kidwell. Old-school and older-school. I had to stop myself from fanning out on both of them. Luckily, they were both locked in conversations with friends or other admirers the entire night. Terry is the common ancestor all freestyle snowboarders share. To see some of the boards he rode back in the day made me shake my head. Things like (roughly) symmetrical noses and tails and 4x4 inserts (mostly) that we take for granted were nowhere to be seen. You want one of the old sleds? Kidwell's auctioning them off soon.

 Terry Kidwell next to some dinosaur bones and a huge bottle opener.

Jamie Lynn, well, he's rocking out now, but the way he rocked out 10-15 years ago, that's what I'm talking about. The style - and of course the method - that everyone wanted. Now he's moved on to music and art. Not only was his band performing live, but he took part in the art collaboration, too. Talk about multi-talented.

 Keeping Northwest music alive, Jamie and Kandi Coded.

I never met Jeff Anderson. Unfortunately, he passed before I got into snowboarding enough to have a chance. My only experience of him is through photos, videos and now other amazing works of art. What an amazing person he must have been to have an event like this sprout up in his wake. Not only does he have wonderful friends that clearly mourn his loss, he has not and will never be forgotten. And they put together beautiful art in his name that brings people together. That's the kind of person to strive to emulate. To be remembered and loved after passing. To have stories told and glasses raised. Tears shed, but smiles spread. To have people come together and build a skatepark in your name. Jeff Anderson is Snowboarding. Jeff Anderson is Immortal.

I AM SNOWBOARDING will be on display at Nemo HQ until January 31 after which it will head to Colorado and SIA and the Winter X Games. To check out the art, buy a print or for other information check out iamjla.org.

I Wonder If They Need An Official Blog Sponsor

Need something to do this weekend in Portland? It's gonna be hot out, so maybe taking your ass to the coast and learning some water sports is in order. Failing that, we get a snowboard rail jam and a park skating contest on back-to-back days. Let me give you the dirty dirty.

First off, the Cricket Campus Rail Jam has been gnawing its way through college campuses in the west for months now. What started in Arizona will come to a spinning, sparking, pressing and sliding conclusion in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square (not really that close to any college campus, but whatev'), Saturday, May 30 at 1pm. They better have the snow cone machine on ludicrous speed to keep up with the projected mid-80s heat wave. Oh yeah, and Todd-would you rather-Richards is going to be there. He needs no intro and he is still high-larry-us. Probably the best MC/host type of all tyme-ah. All the proceedings are 100% free, so if nothing else, show up for the product toss. Maybe you'll score some panties from the energy drink sponsor.

Next day, not much different. Still predicted to be hot. Still sizzling, amateur, board-on-rail action. Still free. This time in a skate park. The Zumiez Couch Tour hits Glenhaven Skatepark and it doesn't let up until everyone has heat stroke. Actually it runs from noon 'til 6. Plenty of free junk from sponsors. The Enjoi team will be there to show you how it's done and/or write their names on things. Finally, when you're so sunburnt you can't even see past your swollen eyelids, the bands start, so you don't have to worry about it. Kandi Coded (featuring Jamie Lynn) starts things off and Emery shuts them down. Because it's a school night, the festivities will end while the sun is still high in the sky. Did I mention sunblock? We Portlanders aren't used to the cloudless skies. Exhibit A: my flaking arms from our last bout of cloudlesness. In addition to the requisite energy drink and skate sponsors, this one also has a burrito sponsor (for the last time, they're not owned by McDonalds anymore, there's nothing left to feel bad about) and a meat snack sponsor. No one goes hungry here.

Kandi Coded, in case you forgot

Bottom line: free 'action sports' (am I the only one who doesn't like that phrase?) entertainment all weekend long. Throw in a couple after-parties for the grown folk and you got yourself a reason to show up late for work on Monday. You might drink enough that you regret it, but trust me on the sunblock. You'll never regret that.

Competition or Community?

This weekend two of the most opposite contests in the history of competition are going down: the 24th Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom and Red Bull's Snowscrapers. One is a long-standing race that gets hundreds of groms, pros and old souls together for a few days of racing with nothing more (or less) than locally-made prizes and a trophy fashioned after a roll of duct tape. The other is a first-time mega-jump with uber-sponsors and hyper-promotion (and-I-love-hyphens!). Battling it out for spin-to-win supremacy and 100G's in prizes will be 16 hand-picked combatants.

Tonight, the first ever Red Bull Snowscrapers kicks off in New York City. The scaffolding jump is reminiscent of Air and Style, but with a hip landing; a gap hip, if you will. I've never seen anything quite like it. Not sure what will go down. Initial reports say the speed isn't quite right, so I hope they got that fixed. Anthrax (the band, not the disease) is set to make an appearance. Oh yeah and the prize pool is 100,000 bucks, so everything is huge, large and/or epic. Check out the info at Red Bull and watch it live at GO211 from now 'til around 6pm Pacific Time.

Tomorrow the qualifying runs start for the Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom, one of the most storied snowboard races of all time. Tomorrow night, Jamie Lynn's band, Kandi Coded, will rock the Joowanna Café in Maple Falls. Coincidence? Probably not. This is one event that might be more about people getting together off the hill than throwing down on it. Run in the same natural halfpipe since 1985, the LBS course changes a little every year, but the basics are the same: banked turns and high speeds. On the same run are everyone from 10-year-old amateurs to 60-year-old grandfathers. The last chance to qualify is Saturday, then the finals on Sunday determine who takes home the tape. Oh yeah, they have a baked salmon dinner and a bonfire on Sunday, too. That's it. No live broadcast, no commercial interruptions. Money donated to causes infinitely exceeds prize money because there is no prize money. Really. A contest with no prize money. And it's not a qualifier for other contests that do have prize money. If you don't get it, you might have to drive east on WA 542 to find out.

An interesting connection: Travis Rice and Terje Haakonsen are listed as competing in both events. Also, the band Valient Thorr is playing Snowscrapers while they played in Kandi Coded's spot last year. Maybe the two events aren't so different after all. It's all snowboarding, ya know?

It's a little late to get to NYC, but GO211 has the live coverage of Snowscrapers right now. I'm making the drive up to Baker tomorrow and might even have a blog from there for you. Not that the internet can capture the legendary vibe, but maybe it will get you to check it out for yourself next year...