“All skate, all skate!” When Elynor Gould’s voice me over the public addrs system at Gay Blas Roller Rk, the skaters on the floor – sometim numberg the hundreds – knew that the upl’ skate, backwards skate, Hokey Pokey or other specialty spotlight was over. “All skate” was the announcement that everyone, no matter
Contents:
- FILE:GAY SKATE AT OAKS PARK ROLLER SKATG RK, PORTLAND, OREGON (2022)
- VTAGE ST. PETE: WHEN GAY BLAS WAS THE CENTER OF THE SKATG UNIVERSE
FILE:GAY SKATE AT OAKS PARK ROLLER SKATG RK, PORTLAND, OREGON (2022)
Startg January 2022, Oaks Park will host Gay Skate on the first and third Monday of every month.
The first time I went to Gay Skate at Oaks Park, I was 19, and on a first date wh a girl om my llege. It’s been around for so long that now people who started g to Gay Skate as teens n brg their own children to the event. Back when Safar first started spng there, Gay Skate looked a ltle different.
Started 1991 as a fundraiser for gay men’s square-dancg group the Rosetown Ramblers, the event almost exclively attracted gay men s earlit days—no women and fely no LGBTQ youth. In her time, she’s seen Gay Skate go om an event that pulled 50 people to one that attracts hundreds. In fact, the event has gotten so popular that, startg January 2022, Oaks Park will start prentg Gay Skate twice a month, every first and third Monday.
VTAGE ST. PETE: WHEN GAY BLAS WAS THE CENTER OF THE SKATG UNIVERSE
But Gay Skate offers an alternative, all-ag space to e together. “It was really eye-openg for me as a young person, seeg others who were totally fortable wh themselv out the open.” Years after she started workg here, MacKay has two dghters who e to Gay Skate nights.