South Loop resident Lynn Cox has been roller skating since she was a child on the South Side of Chicago.
She recalls how roller skating brought her community together every weekend. But Chicago has far fewer rinks than it used to, according to the organizers of an occasional “Skate Rave” that is popping up in an old TJ Maxx at 1008 S. Canal St. The next event is June 19; tickets are available via Eventbrite.
On a recent Thursday, Cox attended the pop-up skate rave with her 26-year-old daughter, Keaira Cox.
“I love seeing all of the people helping each other,” Lynn Cox said. “There’s so much division in the world, it’s nice to see unity.”
Dozens of Chicago skaters came together to socialize, learn and groove at the rave, which took place in the empty former middle of the store. Participants took laps around the venue, practiced tricks in the middle and sat down to take a break around the perimeter of the room.
This was Chicago Skate Social’s sixth “Skate Rave” at the South Loop location, an event the group organized in collaboration with Chicago Vintage Market. The Market, which now owns the space, has turned the old discount department store into an event venue. The theme for the night was emo, and featured two skating performances, plus strobe lights, and a DJ.
Juan Lucero and Cortney Blake, the co-founders of Chicago Skate Social, intentionally wanted to create a safe space for many different types of movement, not just traditional roller skates.
“[The skate rave] allows a lot of access for people who wouldn’t normally venture out to the roller rinks because of limitations with not having a vehicle,” said Blake, who changed her last name to keep her government day job separate from the skating events she puts on. “This also really boosted a new interest from other people who wouldn’t have otherwise looked into it.”
South Loop resident Scott Rigg rides a unicycle, which isn’t allowed in many traditional roller rinks.
“Most kids get their driver’s license for their 16th birthday, and I was like ‘Nah, I want a unicycle,’” Rigg said. “I’ve never had an experience like this. [From riding a unicycle on] the dirty Chicago roads full of potholes to this smooth polished floor…It just feels like I’m a little kid again.”
Scroll down to see photos of an early June “skate rave,” and some of the different styles of wheels that skaters chose for the event, from blades to unicycles.
Chicago Skate Rave photos
Photos by Timothy Hiatt/For the Sun-Times
Yvette Vega, 43, of West Chicago
Cortney Blake, 38, of Chicago
Chris Mosier, 44, of Rogers Park
Brooklyn Roper, 22, of Cincinnati
Ivy Javaras, 27, of Chicago
Tate West, 25, of McKinley Park
Dennis, 23, of Bridgeport
Antonio, 26, of Calumet Heights
Zaryah, 22, of Evanston
Mystic, 20, of Missouri
Anita Li is a Chicago-based freelancer.
