University of Mississippi - Ole Miss Yearbook (Oxford, MS)

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Even though skateboarding imposes risks and complications, it is still an expression of freedom and personality for those that dare to take it on. n r- .,, f . half pipe half time More college students are shredding it up on boards along with the textbooks STORY BY TIM SUMMERS PHOTOGRAPHY BY KYLE KRUSE 022 ITheOle Miss

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Double-Decker rocks my socks off, man! Nothing like this festival nowhere near this festival! The shout emerged from the crowd near the south side of the Oxford Courthouse Square as the people surrounded the unknown shouter started clapping and cheering. The cheering was just the first of several as many people made their way around the Square during the Double Decker Arts Festival. The sky may have been dark and threat- ening during the morning, but the unfavorable weather conditions could not dampen the moods of the crowds as they descended Oxford for Double Decker. According to Rachel Ehrhardt, a senior hospitality management and psychology student from Houston, the day was full of a variety of things to do. That morning it looked like it might rain, lit it was still a pretty good time, she said. The food was good, and the shopping was excellent. It was overall not bad even though it could have started pouring at any second that morning. j The festival, held Saturday, April 26, 2008, v s the 13th year the event was held in Oxford. The event presented a host of a , food, music and fun for all ages. With two stages, the Budweiser North Stage and the AT T South Stage, nearly 15 artists performed for the slightly damp crowds on both sides of the courthouse. These artists came from a variety of music genres, including pop, rock and Local aft was also leatured at the festival, with over 100 artists displaying their works for patrons to view and purchase during the event. The artists worked with many different elements, including glass, pottery, wood and paint. Over 30 food vendors provided culinary reats for everyone to taste from fried shrimp to bar- beque to ice cream and other desserts. Square Fair is an event just for children where they saw magicians and jugglers perform and heard story telling. The children ' s event was held just off the Square at St. Peter ' s Episcopal Church and was meant to allow children to have a part in the Double Decker festivities. The Double Decker Arts Festival started in the mid-1990s as a way to encourage community, according to Hugh Stump, the executive director of the Oxford Convention and Tourism Bureau. The festival borrows its name from the double-decker tourist bus that can often be seen around the city giving tours of Oxford ' s attractions. The festival was started by the original tourism council to encourage a community event and bring it to the Square, Stump said. It is a way to highlight Oxford music, art and food. Stump said his favorite part of the festival is the family interaction he witnesses. Every year my favorite part hands down is the coming together of the community. It ' s amazing and cool to see families out together enjoying music and food, he said. Some families plan reunions around this time and make plans to come back to Oxford for the festival. Layson Lawler, a senior psychology major from Jackson, agrees with Stump. She said the best part of Double Decker is the sense of community. I like how the whole town, both the Ole Miss and Oxford communities, come out to celebrate, Lawler said. There ' s something entertaining for everyone. Stump said the event gets bigger and better each passing year. This year I think we saw some of the best in art, music, food and fun in the Double Decker Festival, Stump said. The festival grows each year and attracts more people to our city. In future years we can expect to see more att ention as people see food, music and art mix with Oxford ' s hospitality, sense of community and good-natured fun.

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Oxford is a unique town. Southern, yes, and small as well, it holds a perspective that people assume is stereotypical; however, there lies more to it than one can see at first glance. For example, there is a skate park down by the Public Library, squeezed in-between the Boys and Girls Club and the Public Swimming Pool. This skate park has a history of being a local hangout for high school and home schooled kids during the day and night. One time, Tony Hawk even skated there. The most interesting skaters, though, are the ones easily discernable among the rest from their noticeable height advantage and advanced facial hair: the college kids. Now, the motives for younger children to jump on tiny pieces of wood and hurl themselves around a concrete bowl are obvious. They are indestructible motion-machines provided a healthy outlet by the local skate park. Also, like those who play baseball and other sports, there are heroes, like Hawk and others, for the kids to idolize. What motivation then drives these older skaters? Brian Cage, owner of Suite 10 Skateboards in Oxford, says that the biggest advantage to skateboarding is that it pushes the individual to improve themselves while encouraging an active lifestyle. It like with a ball diamond, a soccer field, the bike trails, or anything that gets somebody active. Especially to get active in a sport that pushes you to get better than your peers in a positive way. Anytime you try something new and are pushed by your peers, it is going to be positive. You can transition that to school, your job, or whatever. It ' s what we make of it. Cage reflects on the quality of the skate park. I have lived here for 24 out of my 36 years, and I never would have thought we would have this. When I am down there I don ' t even think I am in Oxford anymore. When I was a kid, we had to travel 5 or 6 hours to a park where pros would come. Is it really that good? When you have a free park to the public that costs 475,000 dollars and in the first two years that it is open you have pros like Tony Hawk come that is how good a park we have. The great thing about the park is that it is free, and the great thing about skateboarding is that you have diversity, from kids to University students. Matt Hosey, a self-proclaimed older skater, reflects on his reasons to walk down University Avenue to the park, revealing the hold that the sport has even as one ages. It ' s a self-achievement. It is something I want to be good at. It is a very rewarding sport, and I have the utmost respect for those who do it well. Achieving my goals for me is so rewarding. That is why I continue to walk down there. What about falling? Does that hurt more than it used to? Not too good. But it gets better. Once you fall down so many times, you learn how to fall down without getting hurt. The age difference does not really matter to Hosey. It ' s kind of weird for me too, because I always felt that I was the younger one, and now I have kids looking up to me. I wouldn ' t say I feel like a role model, but I try to be encouraging. I think its fun. I met this kid once, who said, ' How old do you think I am? ' I said 16. He was actually 14. This kid shreds better than anyone there almost. He is on up there. Hosey said he would continue to skate as long as possible. Until I can ' t skate anymore, or probably until I outgrow my youthful vigor. That ' s what I love about skating though, is that you don ' t even have to pull big tricks to have fun. You can just skate, and it is fun in itself. The Ole Nliss | 023