The Annual Skate Art Music Anti-Gala celebrates its 4th year at The BAY

By Will Roper
Aug. 23, 2018

The exclusivity of a gala is usually it’s primary appeal. However, the local non-profit organization housed at The Bay looks to turn that idea on it’s head each year as they welcome people from all walks of life to their large annual fundraiser.

The 4th annual Skate Art Music Anti-Gala will be held at The Bay on Aug. 25 to celebrate youth culture in many different forms. The event will run from noon – 1 a.m., and will feature a multitude of workshops, skateboarding, speakers and artists for people of all ages.

The suggested ticket price is a donation of $20, however the event will have a pay-what-you-can price until it reaches capacity.

This will be a year of large firsts for the creative event. This is the first fundraiser for the newly formed non-profit Rabble Mill, which is now a collective organization of Hear Nebraska, The Bay and Skate for Change, and this will be the first year the event takes place at The Bay instead of at the Railyard in the Haymarket.

Event coordinator for The Bay Kate Smith summed up the diversity of the Skate Art Music Anti-Gala on KZUM’s The Slacker Morning Show Thursday morning.

“We’ll have a really great time with all these local bands, poets and skateboarders,” Smith said.

There will be a heavy emphasis on skateboarding and skate culture at the anti-gala, as the day kicks off with different levels of Skate School. Rabble Mill is also boasting an enormous 36 talented Midwestern skateboarders for the event. 32 of these skaters have been hand-picked by Rabble Mill, with the other four competing in early afternoon Wildcard events to earn a spot in the main event. While these skaters will compete for a massive $4,500 in total prize money, there will also be plenty of contests and games for skaters of all ages throughout the day, like S.K.A.T.E., Highest Ollie and Hippy Jump. The competition will also feature professional skateboarders Robbie Brockel and Justin Brock from skate team Real Skateboards as guest judges, and they’ll also be participating in other activities.

There will also be plenty of music at the Skate Art Music Anti-Gala, with both national and local acts slated to perform. The New Jersey band Screaming Females will headline the day alongside Kansas hip-hop group Ebony Tusks and 10 other local bands Parking Lot Party, Histrionic, Threesome Egos, I Forgot To Love My Father, Black Johnny Quest, Orca Welles, Hakim, Death Cow, Kali Masi and Ria Gold. DJ Cayleen and DJ Relic will also be spinning some jams at the event.

Much of the art at the anti-gala will focus on digital art through it’s immersion and innovation. Artists Abigail Ervin, Joel Egger, Shane Adams and Caleb Weidel will hold workshops and talks on everything from photography and illustrations to improvisation and music production.

Poetry from Jack Buchanan, Maria Nazos and Henry Zander will also be featured.

Lincoln’s Zipline Brewing Co. will also be sponsoring an outdoor beer garden at The Bay alongside a food truck and other food from the skate and coffee shop.

Through Rabble Mill’s program divisions of Hear Nebraska, The Bay and Skate for Change, the Skate Art Music Anti-Gala fundraiser is ultimately about raising money for the organization’s primary goal – ending generational poverty by giving youth constructive and creative tools to find what they’re passionate about. This year’s event promises to continue the fundraiser’s success in previous years, and to continue the fight against hunger and poverty.