Lace up your skates and put on your hot pants/American Apparel thigh-high white socks and celebrate the Cincinnati tradition that is A Roller Skating Jam Called Christmas, which returns for the eighth year to the Fun Factory in Norwood. Started by Sebastian Botzow (aka Seblove) in December 2001, the skating party originated as a way to get old friends back together and to beat the holiday doldrums. “I decided throw a party, and rollerskating, for some reason, felt like the right thing,” Botzow says. “It was an excuse to give some nods to middle school, dust off the Digital Underground 12 inches, get some blisters and DJ in a booth with a broken Gemini mixer and a bunch of lasers painted on the wall.” This year the jam, named after the De La Soul song “A Rollerskating Jam Called Saturdays,” falls right on Christmas Day. So if you feel like getting off the couch and ditching your family, the party starts at 11:30 p.m. and only costs $8, which pays for admission, skate rental and the employees of the Fun Factory who are showing up to work specifically for the party. Get details here.
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2008.