The Pentown Throwdown returns to the Penticton Peach Festival this year with an all-amateur roster of skateboarders and BMX riders.
“This year we decided to make this an amateur-only competition to encourage local youth to come out and have a lot of fun, no matter their skill level,” said Ryan Wuthe, Peach Festival director. “There will be all kinds of fun things going on throughout the day. This is a cool event and we are looking forward to seeing people come out to participate or sit back as spectators to watch the high-flying tricks.”
The event, sponsored Boyd Autobody, takes place Aug. 12 from noon to 6 p.m. at the Penticton Youth Park and is free of charge for spectators. Competitors of all ages can register the day of the event at the skatepark at 10 a.m. BMX’ers and skateboarders will compete in street and bowl categories and representatives from Pentagon Boardshop and Freedom Bike Shop will be judging the riders, handing out $2,000 in cash prizes plus additional giveaways during the event. All competitors must wear helmets or they will not be allowed to participate.
A special guest will be on hand for the Pentown Throwdown — the South Okanagan’s own Travis “Little T” Turner.
Turner found his calling on the stage performing in many plays and winning the Outstanding Male Performance in a Supporting Role at the Alberta One Act Festival. Since then he has performed in over 15 independent films, the sequel to Marley and Me, a starring role in Nickelodeon’s sequel to the Fairly Odd Parents, YTV’s Some Assembly Required, was featured in the TV series Supernatural as well as many others.
Little T is the stage name he has built for himself in the hip-hop industry. He has performed with acts like Mawwcklemore, B-Real, Warren G, Lil’ Kim, Kyprios and wmany others. Earlier this month he released his newest album Worldwide.
A fundraising barbecue, thanks to sponsorship from IGA and Boyd Autobody, will also take place at the youth park on Aug. 12 from noon to 4:30 p.m. Money raised will go to the YES Project, who will be building a youth resource centre in Penticton with a one-stop hub of integrated services for youth 12 to 24 years old.
“We chose the YES Project because we recognize the importance of supporting our youth in Penticton and to prevent them from falling through the cracks because they don’t have timely access to mental health support, basic needs or a safe place,” said Wuthe. “It was an easy decision to choose them as the charity this year, considering this is an event for youth. We hope people drop in after the Peters Bros. Grand Parade to show their support and to catch some of the action in the park.”
Follow Peach Festival on Twitter @Peachfest17, Instagram @pentictonpeachfestival or Facebook.com/pentictonPeachfest
