Not everyone who traveled to Capitol Hill this weekend came for Block Party. Some came to get their sport on. CHS Crow stopped by Cal Anderson Park and a met skateboarder, a bocce ball champ, and a hooper all out doing their thing within earshot of the music festival, and learned a bit about their respective scenes and routines in the process.
| Jacob |
What brought you out tonight?
I was going to go to Block Party, but then, I brought my skateboard and I figured it probably wouldn’t be too cool to be bashing my way through the crowds with a board so I just came out here to skate at Cal Anderson.
So you paid for a ticket but bailed?
I actually got a free ticket through the local skateshop.
… did you see anybody play today?
No, I’m terrible. I didn’t even look at the lineup. I saw a couple of DJ’s playing on the stage, I wasn’t even sure who they were.
What kind of work do you do?
I deliver pizzas for Pagliacci Pizza.
Do you skate a lot around the Hill?
All the time, yeah. The other day we over at Jefferson Park, because there was a Fallen footwear demo, with Jamie Thomas. He’s an old skater, 40 years old, still shredding. So yeah we’re always out here on the Hill.
What can you say about the skate scene here?
It’s a lotta nice dudes. … It’s a tight community, but people don’t push you away. Everyone’s always down to skate with you whether you’re doing tre flips or whether you’re learning how to kick flip or whatever. Everyone’s always really cool.
Do you live in the neighborhood?
I live down in South Seattle.
Anything else to tell me about yourself?
I’m also working on my music career. I go by JPatt. … I grew up here, but that’s what keeps me around.
What are you up to after this? Keep skating … ?
Keep skating, drink some beers. See where the night takes me.
| Chris |
What brought you guys out tonight?
We came out here to play some bocce ball.
How’d it go?
It was awesome and I won. … I destroyed dude.
Is that a pretty typical outcome?
Yeah, sometimes.
Do you play bocce ball here a lot?
Sometimes, usually super late at night though. Like three in the morning. In the dark, in the rain.
Are you from Capitol Hill?
No I live over in Fremont.
Why aren’t you at the Block Party?
I kind of forgot that it was going on, honestly. And there’s not a whole lot of bands I really want to see.
What are you up to after the bocce session?
Probably going to go home, nothing crazy for a Saturday night.
Who are you?
I’m a graphic designer, and I ride bikes a lot. Pretty much a simple guy.
… what kind of bike riding?
We ride a lot of road bikes, fixed gears, cross bikes.
… what kind of graphic design do you do?
Multidisciplinary, but mainly packaging right now.
What do you have to say to the people of Capitol Hill?
You guys have a very lively neighborhood, and I think about living here sometimes, but I end up not. But I think it’s fun to come hang out
| Maggie |
Who are you?
I moved here about a year ago with my husband. He’s studying up at Bastyr University. I’m part of the tech industry in Seattle — I’m a front-end web developer. So I’ve been working in the field for a little while here. But when I’m not on computers plugging away I love dancing and hula hooping.
… and you live in Capitol Hill?
I live in Kenmore actually.
What brought you out today?
So this is the Seattle Spin Jam. We meet every week here in Cal Anderson Park during the summer time. Usually from 3 to 5 or whenever people want to meet after that. During the rainier months we meet at Dance Underground and do a Spin Jam there. It’s just juggling, hoola-hooping, poi spinning, staff spinning — all kinds of circusy stuff.
Is anyone invited?
Yeah, absolutely. Anyone’s invited. Usually people come with extra [gear] to play with so people learn how to do stuff. And if people are willing to learn and they are willing to put themselves out there and say, ‘Hey! Can you show me how to do something?’, usually people are definitely more than willing to show them a few things.
How long have you been hooping?
I’ve been hooping for five years now. It’s really interesting, the hula hooping community is a very interconnected community throughout the country, which is really fun. Usually in most major cities there’s a spin jam you can go to and meet people who are doing the same thing as you. …
When I started I was in Boston — I went to school in Boston — and went to the Boston spin jam there. Moved to Kansas City, went to spin jam there. Met a lot of jugglers, started juggling, and made a bunch of friends through doing that. …
… how did you get started with it all?
I went to Banaroo for a couple years, and there were tons of hula hoopers there. And then just started chatting with people in Boston where I lived at the time. There’s a really amazing community there, lots of people to show me the ropes. But for the most part I actually just kind of learned through looking up tutorials on YouTube. … There’s a lot of resources out there if you want to learn.
And what does hooping mean for you — what’s compelling about it?
I’ve always loved dancing. And it gives adults an excuse to dance. Because it’s a little weird to just turn on some music and start dancing in your living room. But if you have this plastic circle thing it gives you an excuse to do a little dancing. … So for me it was really just about reconnecting with dancing. And just the amazing community of really unique people that you’re able to meet through it.
What do you have to say to the people of Capitol Hill?
Come out and play. Come learn how to juggle and hoop and spin poi and all that. It’s never too late to learn — I think a lot of adults think they’re too old to learn how to do something like this. But it’s never too late to learn, and it’s so much fun when you do.
