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  IASC Executive Director Josh Friedberg. Photo courtesy of IASC.

The International Association of Skateboard Companies is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Go Skateboarding Day this week by partnering with the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. 

The two-day festival dedicated to skateboarding called Innoskate takes place this Friday and Saturday, June 21st and June 22nd, in the nation’s capitol. The event is a big deal for skateboarding and will provide a grand stage to showcase the sport to the rest of the country.

Josh Friedberg, the executive director for the IASC, shared with Shop-Eat-Surf more about the partnership and what is happening in D.C.

How did the partnership with the Smithsonian and decision to launch Global Go Skateboarding Day events in Washington D.C. come about?

In January 2011, the National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, launched a broad collecting initiative focusing on skateboarding and skate culture. As part of that initiative they wanted to do a public festival celebrating skate culture’s widespread innovative spirit with the museum’s public audiences.

I began speaking with them about the project after a group from the Smithsonian (Jeffrey Brodie, Betsy Gordon and Jane Rogers) came out to the 2012 IASC Skateboarding Summit. Conceptually, things lined up perfectly with the 10-year anniversary of Go Skateboarding Day so we began sorting out the details with their team, Miki Vuckovich, Ryan Clements and myself.

Once the framework of the event was in place, I took the concept to the IASC Board. Hunter Muraira brought it to Nike, who wound up making a generous donation to IASC in order to fund the production of the event. Once the funding was in place we began locking down the actual program and participants and now Innoskate is here this Friday and Saturday!

See Page 2 for details for program highlights

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What exactly is happening in D.C. this weekend?

There are a ton of things going on! We’re donating the first portion of 1,000 complete boards dedicated to underprivileged kids in D.C. on the morning of Go Skateboarding Day through our Just One Board initiative. Then, we’ll be joining Palace 5ive’s Palace to Pulaski 6 GSD activities. That evening there is a screening of Bones Brigade: An Autobiography at the National Museum of American History followed by a Q & A with Rodney Mullen and Tony Hawk.

Saturday, June 22, the Innoskate program starts in the morning with a donation ceremony of skate memorabilia to the Smithsonian’s permanent collection, followed by four different panels examining innovation in skateboarding.

Paul Schmitt will be discussing skateboard technology with the help of Chris Haslam. Rodney Mullen and Tony Hawk will be talking about the evolution of tricks and what drove them to innovate. Shawn Carboy, Brian Anderson and Cindy Whitehead will be discussing innovation in skate footwear and fashion and its influence on the mainstream. The last panel is Miki Vuckovich, Bryan Ridgeway, Mimi Knoop and myself talking about where innovation could take skateboarding in the future.

All of this is happening on and around a mini-ramp built by CA Skateparks on the plaza at the National Museum of American History fronting the National Mall. There will be skate demos in between the panel discussions with Chris Haslam, Kyle Berard, Mimi Knoop, Shaun Gregoire, the Habitat team, the World Industries team, riders from G.R.O., Palace 5ive and VU Skateboard Shop.

The day concludes with a screening of Waiting for Lightning and Q & A with the film’s director Jacob Rosenberg and writer Bret Anthony Johnston.

Saturday’s Innoskate program will be webcast.

See Page 3 for more details about working with the Smithsonian

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What has it been like to work with the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center?

It’s been a really great and somewhat surreal experience. The last thing I thought I’d be doing in my life is talking about skateboarding at the Smithsonian.

Their open-minded approach and genuine desire to learn about skate culture is refreshing and the parallels between invention and skateboard culture are incredibly strong.

Both inventors and skateboarders are constantly driven by the need to innovate and find better ways to use the resources that are available to them. Technological and environmental boundaries are constantly being pushed in order to create something new that has never been seen or done before.

I’ve always known that skateboarders view the world differently – it’s fun to see, and not that surprising that inventors share our same mindset when it comes to innovation.

How do you think this event affect the skateboarding industry?

I think having skateboarding on a national stage like Innoskate only further reinforces how important skateboarding is to American history and culture. Hopefully it will help continue to erode some of the negative biases skateboarders face while they’re out doing what they love.

Anything else?

I’d like to give a huge thanks to everyone who made Innoskate possible. It’s going to be an amazing way to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Go Skateboarding Day.