Skateboarding and live music? Yes, please!
Author: Virginia Meeks
On Saturday, July 26, the town of Napanee will host something that hasn’t been seen in Ontario in decades: a ranked freestyle skateboarding contest.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the L&A Expo ‘25 Freestyle Skateboarding Contest will take over the Best & Bash Arena grounds with a full day of flips, footwork, and fast-paced music all with free entry for spectators. Details here: web link
This isn’t just any skate event. It’s the first officially ranked freestyle skateboarding competition in Ontario since the 1980s, sanctioned by the World Freestyle Skateboarding Association (WFSA). Skaters from across the globe—including as far away as Chile—are converging on Napanee for their shot at the title of Eastern Canada Freestyle Champion.
For those unfamiliar, freestyle is the original trick-based form of skateboarding. Long before the rise of handrails, vert ramps, and street-style ollies, there was freestyle pioneered by legends like Russ Howell, Primo Desiderio, and Rodney Mullen. Though it faded into obscurity with the popularity of other styles, freestyle has been making a quiet global comeback, with thriving scenes in the U.S., Romania, Japan, and beyond.
Canada, once a freestyle stronghold, has lagged in the revival. That’s exactly why the event’s organizer founder of the country’s only dedicated freestyle skate brand, Mongo Lloyd & Melo (a.k.a. MLM Skates) is on a mission to bring this lost performance art back to Ontario, starting with the L&A Expo.
Adding to the energy, freestyle contests aren’t just about skateboarding they’re also about music. For freestyle competition, every competitor choreographs their routine to a carefully chosen track, turning each run into a performance.
So, it only made sense to the organizers to pair the contest with a live, open-air concert, bringing together a lineup of heavy hitters from Kingston, Ontario’s punk and metal scenes.
Live music performance schedule:
10:15 a.m - FFX
10:45 a.m - Monach web link
11:45 a.m - The Struggles Over
2:30 p.m - Ascension Blacklist web link
3:30 p.m - Master Nate & The Reprobates web link
Whether you’re a lifelong skater, a curious newcomer, or just there for the music, the L&A Expo ’25 promises to be a one-of-a-kind celebration of creativity, culture, and comeback stories all on four wheels. Posted: Jun 20, 2025
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the L&A Expo ‘25 Freestyle Skateboarding Contest will take over the Best & Bash Arena grounds with a full day of flips, footwork, and fast-paced music all with free entry for spectators. Details here: web link
This isn’t just any skate event. It’s the first officially ranked freestyle skateboarding competition in Ontario since the 1980s, sanctioned by the World Freestyle Skateboarding Association (WFSA). Skaters from across the globe—including as far away as Chile—are converging on Napanee for their shot at the title of Eastern Canada Freestyle Champion.
For those unfamiliar, freestyle is the original trick-based form of skateboarding. Long before the rise of handrails, vert ramps, and street-style ollies, there was freestyle pioneered by legends like Russ Howell, Primo Desiderio, and Rodney Mullen. Though it faded into obscurity with the popularity of other styles, freestyle has been making a quiet global comeback, with thriving scenes in the U.S., Romania, Japan, and beyond.
Canada, once a freestyle stronghold, has lagged in the revival. That’s exactly why the event’s organizer founder of the country’s only dedicated freestyle skate brand, Mongo Lloyd & Melo (a.k.a. MLM Skates) is on a mission to bring this lost performance art back to Ontario, starting with the L&A Expo.
Adding to the energy, freestyle contests aren’t just about skateboarding they’re also about music. For freestyle competition, every competitor choreographs their routine to a carefully chosen track, turning each run into a performance.
So, it only made sense to the organizers to pair the contest with a live, open-air concert, bringing together a lineup of heavy hitters from Kingston, Ontario’s punk and metal scenes.
Live music performance schedule:
10:15 a.m - FFX
10:45 a.m - Monach web link
11:45 a.m - The Struggles Over
2:30 p.m - Ascension Blacklist web link
3:30 p.m - Master Nate & The Reprobates web link
Whether you’re a lifelong skater, a curious newcomer, or just there for the music, the L&A Expo ’25 promises to be a one-of-a-kind celebration of creativity, culture, and comeback stories all on four wheels. Posted: Jun 20, 2025
In this Article Artist(s)
Master Nate & The Reprobates,
Monach,
ASCENSION BLACKLIST, The Struggles Over, FFX
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