Photo By David Wasinger

The ASA MOBILE SKATEPARK SERIES is back. Following last year's successful meld of sport and culture, the series returns this weekend in what is the first of five stops across the country this summer. Sawyer Point along the Riverfront is again ground zero for the festivities, hosting top competitors from the world of skateboarding (including last year's vert champ, Sandro "Minerino" Dias), inline skating (Blake Dennis) and freestyle BMX biking (Ryan Nykvist, John Parker) for five days (May 23-27) of interactive mayhem. For those in an extreme sports coma, this is big stuff -- corporate sponsorship, large crowds, TV coverage, large prizes and larger skills.

So how did we get here?

In the early 1970s skateboarding was nearly extinct. One thing changed everything: the urethane wheel. Providing better traction and speed, this seemingly simple invention revolutionized skateboarding, allowing young southern California iconoclasts like Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta to change the perception of the sport -- yes, sport (more later) -- from a cultish fad executed by surfer dudes and stoners into a skillful, often beautiful art form (see Peralta's documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys for further exploration).

Needless to say, skateboarding's profile has evolved a bit over the last 30 years. Riders/skaters/et al. now make careers out of their skills. (For a profile of the local skateboard scene, see "Going Big," issue of April 2-8.) Thanks to countless ad endorsements and his wildly popular video game -- not to mention spectacular talent -- Tony Hawk has become as recognizable as any athlete on the current landscape. And, yes, despite sports talk mouthpiece Jim Rome's smack to the contrary, these guys/gals are unquestioned athletes, pulling off maneuvers most people have trouble replicating on their Xboxs. They got skills.

Besides the competitions, the five-day fest also has plenty for the less skilled to do, including video game contests, pro clinics, autograph signings, graffiti art, an Internet lounge, live music (see Spill It, page 43) and an open pro-caliber skatepark for local kids to skate and mingle with their favorite pros. For a comprehensive schedule of events dial up www.mssevent.com. (See Sports.) -- JASON GARGANO

Thursday 22
One woman, 24 personalities. No, it's not Sybil, it's the regional premiere of Pamela Gien's THE SYRINGA TREE, the story of a girl growing up in apartheid South Africa. Actresses Stephanie Cozart and Shannon Koob are alternating in the one-woman show, playing people who are black and white, young and old, male and female. It's a theatrical tour de force, and one hell of a thought-provoking play, too -- it won a 2001 award as Off Broadway's best play. At the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's Shelterhouse Theatre. 513-421-3888. (See Onstage.) -- RICK PENDER

Friday 23
Wipe your feet at the door. LINDA SCHWARTZ GALLERY and CARL SOLWAY GALLERY's joint venture, the annual Welcome! show, looks forward to some obviously new changes in the arts landscape with a selection of Cincinnati's most progressive artists and collaboratives including Keith Benjamin, TODT, Richard Wearn and Joey Versoza. Most of the works stray from traditional ways with new collaborations, automations and installations starting at the entrance and ending in the Project Room. For example, Benjamin's arte-povera fireplace "trashes" material preconceptions with not-so-ordinary recyclable art featuring cereal icon Cap'n Crunch, while Tom DeLisle's remixed campfire sing-a-long takes a long, hard look at lyrical encryption and casual murder. Marshmallows, anyone? When you're done at Linda's, shuttle to Solway's for a little Video +, with new video-based acquisitions from Nam June Paik, Tony Oursler and Matthew McCaslin. 513-241-4202. (See Art.) -- LIBERTY WAMPLER

Saturday 24
Despite the event to the left, there's another sport on the Riverfront worth checking out this week. Following a so-so road trip (3-3), the upstart CINCINNATI REDS are back in Great American Ball Park for five games, flexing even more power than expected -- their 69 homeruns lead the National League. Atlanta's Braves, the hottest team in the NL, are first up (Wednesday and Thursday), followed by the return of former manager Jack McKeon and his Florida Marlins (Friday-Sunday). And, no, the Reds are not better with Griffey on the bench. Really. 513-381-REDS. (See Sports.) -- JASON GARGANO

Sunday 25
Slap on your best sweet-smellin' lotion. More than 1,000 butterflies flutter into "the wild" -- that is, throughout the grounds of the KROHN CONSERVATORY -- and they just might want to get a little friendly. At the 2003 BUTTERFLY SHOW, you'll see more than 75 different species from North and Central America and Africa, and maybe brush up on their life cycle at the caterpillar exhibit. But you better go soon; these fleeting creatures fly out of town June 23. $5-$3. 513-421-5707. (See Attractions.) -- JESSICA TURNER

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