After Hurricane Ida, skaters and non-skaters alike are coming back from being evacuated, working on putting their homes and communities back together, and trying to return to normalcy. We asked the Crescent Skate Krewe in New Orleans how we can help.
While New Orleans is on the mend, it should be noted that communities further down the Bayou are still hurting and supplies and help (financial and otherwise) is still greatly needed. Local organizations on the ground working to directly deliver resources and provide help include Mutual Aid Louisiana @mutualaidlouisiana, Krewe of Red Beans @redbeansparade, Bvlbancha Collective @bvlbanchacollective, Glass Half Full @glasshalffull.nola. Please, let it be known that the Red Cross is not helpful. Redirect your donations and attention to local organizations.
As skateboarders, all we fucking do is fall and get up over and over, so this ain't nothing new.
Crew name: Crescent Skate Krewe.
City or region? New Orleans, Louisiana.
What do you do? Emphasize the budding non-traditional skate community. Provide a space for all the badass ladies, theydies, and gaydies in New Orleans.
Where do you meet? Local skateparks including Parisite DIY.
How did you start? At the beginning of the pandemic, a handful of queers started meeting up at Parisite & quickly more & more queer folks started showing up. It grew organically, but a few skaters stepped up to be advocates and trusted points of contact.
Can you share a story or favorite moment from a meetup? In March of 2021, we organized a meet up at our friend Aimee’s mini ramp (that is not so mini). About 20 of us, many of who had never been on a ramp that size, had the space all to ourselves. A few learned how to drop in, some practiced pumping, and others worked on mastering other tricks. There was tons of hype, tons of love and support from other local allies (Monique & Larry Blossom, Adam Ludan), and tons of bruises & bad tan lines. (Editors note: bruises & bad tan lines = Bigfoot uniform)
How can people get involved/support you? Come skate with us! If you’re ever in Southern Louisiana/New Orleans, send us an Instagram DM! Support all spaces and opportunities that center experiences of queer, femme, non-binary bodies. The more we challenge the patriarchy, the more opportunities for safe spaces within male-dominated sports can thrive.
Any meetups coming up we can share? We skate every Sunday at Parisite DIY. Many of the Crescent Krewe are volunteering for communities outside of New Orleans that were hit very hard. We’ll all get back to meeting up at the skate park soon, but for now, our communities need help. Parisite DIY stepped up as a supply drop-off location.
Where can people find you online? Instagram @crescentskatekrewe
Anything else you want us to know? We started by challenging the norm. It’s intimidating but possible. We’d like to make an environment where it isn’t “INSANE” when a non-male does a rad line or trick, and also where people in all bodies feel welcome and safe. Challenge your own skate community! One of our founders, Alyssa, started skating when she was 10 and was always the only girl around. In 20 years of skating, progress is happening, but slowly – especially in smaller skate communities. One of the goals of this Krewe is to build momentum for our small non-traditional and non-male community. We want the larger skate community to see the force that we are and continue to provide opportunities for us and the next generation of skaters.
This map was created to make it easier for non-trad skaters to find people to skate with and places to roll. every month Maya haptas shoots a few questions to one of the meet up crews featured. Let's skate y'all!
