Kevin Wands drove more than an hour from his home in Paragould, Arkansas, to compete in the Fifty Fifty Fest skateboarding competition Saturday at the Poplar Bluff Skate Park.
Why did he make the trip? That was simple.
“Skateboarding is fun and I love it,” Wands said. “Everything is fun about skateboarding.”
Saturday's Fifty Fifty Fest is the latest example of the growth of skateboarding in Poplar Bluff, a fact that excites Fifty Fifty Fest event promoter Shawn Adams.
“I'm just blessed to be a part of it,” Adams said. “Downtown Poplar Bluff and the Parks and Rec Department came to me because I own local board shop here — Backroom Board Skate Shop — and when they presented me the opportunity (to do this) I was elated.
“They have made everything here possible, these great sponsors. I'm just super stoked to be a part of it and have something to do with this local space being (used).”
While Adams does not know how many people showed up yet, he is very pleased with the turnout from Saturday.
“Man, excellent turnout for our first year,” Adams said. “I expected to have about (550) total kids and I haven't tallied them yet, but we've had over 100 entries — so it turned out to be a fun event. It seems like everybody's had an excellent time. I can't wait to do it again next year.”
Wands took second in the adult advanced division of the contest to Danny Underwood, who made the three-hour trip from Springfield to compete.
“(It felt) pretty good,” Underwood said. “I almost died of heatstroke, but it's all right — I just (kept) going.”
Meanwhile, Noah Collins came up from Jonesboro, Arkansas, and won the adult intermediate division. He said that it was “surreal” winning the competition.
“I just thought I'd show up and have a good time,” Collins said. “I just skated as good as I could and I was really surprised when they (announced) me to win this. I've been skating off and on my whole life, but this past two years I've really kicked it into gear while I'm going through college.”
The Fifty Fifty Fest also featured live music, including The Wild and Free from St. Louis. Saturday's event was special for them because it was their first concert since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it's really awesome,” The Wild and Free guitarist Dan Kerns said. “It's the first show we've been able to play in about 15 months, so we are itching to get back out here and on the road again.”
The Wild and Free had planned to tour last summer before the pandemic put a stop to those plans.
“We really put the brakes on our whole band operation,” Kerns said. “We were supposed to be on the road all summer long (in 2020) and everything just stopped — so it's it's real nice to come down to Poplar Bluff and play at this awesome skate event.”
Between the large crowd, live music and talented competitors Saturday, Adams is excited for the futue of skateboarding in Poplar Bluff.
“If you've ever been considering getting into skateboard, now's the time,” Adams said. “The local scene's growing — anytime (anyone wants) to be a part of this, just come see me. I'd love to help in the skate scene in the local community in any way that I can.”