Giant’s Head Freeride Party 2014

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Many of you were pretty bummed when this year’s Giant’s Head Freeride was cancelled due extremely hot temperatures and threat of fire on the hill in Summerland, BC. But even more of you will be bummed to find out that you also missed out on the hottest dance party of the year. With the last minute cancellation, many skaters had already planned on traveling out there and now had nothing to do. While some made other plans that week, a good many took over the town of Summerland this year. This time they did it not through downhill, but through dance.

When you arrive into the area of Summerland, BC during the summer, you quickly understand how it got it’s name. The heat makes you want to go straight to the water, so straight to Okanagan Lake we did. The white sandy beach of nearby Penticton is an attractive setting for a daytime dance-off. These beach boys were so aptly dressed, I had to capture this picture.

Sometimes the heat gets to be a bit much when your trying to get your moves out. I headed over to some shade under a big tent the Giant’s Head Freeride organizers set up for the day. Elena Corrigall and her gang of b-girls were having an impromptu breaking competition with some b-boys. Despite Elena’s intensity as she performed back spins and windmills, the dudes were not impressed.

That evening, there was a big dance exhibition at the local entertainment center. The performances were booked just days in advance to appease the massive crowd of spectators expected to show up to watch the freeride event. Many were excited to watch the talented young b-boy Jasper Ohlson dance. Needless to say, Jasper did not disappoint. He had many power moves in addition to back spins, but this move was a crowd favorite.

In the basement, they had more dance going on in separate rooms. I showed up to one room that was packed with people and popping off. I squeezed through the crowd and sat on the floor right in front of the dancers. I don’t know who this b-boy was, but his flares were spot on. His legs almost hit my lens.

I moved to a backstage room where performers were practicing their moves. This particular group was more into krumping than breaking. Charlie Darragh was in a session with some of his friends and getting buck. Check it out.

The last krumping session of the night was the previous SYTYCD winner, “Mad Max” Max Gradmiller, known for his intense facial expressions and powerful chest pops and stomps. Later in the night, he killed-off his oppenenent, no question.

There’s More! Check out this video with recommended songs to listen to while viewing the photos from the whole trip.





The next day many of us were pretty tired from the day of dancing. Some people hit the beach, some hit the skatepark, but we all planned on meeting up at this lounge for happy hour appetizers and a bit of dancing. It was an all ages bar and was playing chilled out lounge music. I could’ve sworn I recognized the bartender and the DJ.

While leaving the lounge, we headed down the alley and saw someone we recognized. It was Brandon Tissen with his twerk team and ooh boy were they getting down. Badonkadonks, yadada mean?

We all headed to the Summerland disco dance showdown, which was the last chance for us longboarders to strut our stuff in front of an audience who would decide the winner. Groups of longboarders filled the crowd and it was pretty obvious who were and who weren’t. There was live music before the dance-off.

Next up was some group disco line dancing. Tyler Howell, Ben Dubreuil, and Brett Ciabattini know how to get down.

The floor cleared, and this guy Tony got on the floor and danced for a while. You could tell he wasn’t a longboarder cause he wasn’t wearing any protection, as far as anybody could tell. Some hecklers started yelling, “No helmet, no respect!” Right as Tony got a bit self-conscious and backed off, Aaron Breetwor jumped in and started strutting his stuff. You could see Tony start nodding his head and mouthing, “alriiiight.”

So, someone handed Tony a glove to try on and I think he was feelin’ it.

Through the crowd, Ken Leigh appeared and extended his hand, along with two bones gloves for a duet with Tony. Tony gladly put the gloves on and he and Ken danced like they’d never danced before.

Before Ken and Tony could take a bow for their extraordinary number, Liam Morgan and Charlie Darragh took the stage and showed off their moves wearing proper safety equipment. The helmet police were silenced and Tony was inspired. Charlie really showed his diversity in dance skills.

Tony asked to borrow a helmet, and because the longboarding community is so centered on safety, he had many to choose from. He put on a blue one, changed up his gloves to leather for a little more protection, and grabbed another dance parter. Harrison DePass was eager to boogie down and grabbed Tony’s hand for the last duet of the night. As good as all the longboarders were, it was Tony who ended up stealing the show and winning the hearts of the audience. He was crowned the disco dance champion.

After all was said and done with the disco dancing, the music shut off and the lights went low. Suddenly a beat came on the speakers and a cool blue light turned on overhead. Next, the bassline and then the strings followed suit and San Francisco legend David Price walked on the floor wearing one white, shiny glove. He started singing and we all new what was coming next. “Eee, hee” and “Oww” could be heard as he shuffled around the dance floor, denying any ownership of another gal’s son. He wowed the audience with his moonwalking abilities and ultimately killed the show.

Last but certainly not least, I have made a video compiling all of the photos with music that goes with their dancing. I hope you enjoy:

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