View file photoLit guitarist Jeremy Popoff tosses a pick into the crowd during last year?s Extreme Thing Action Sports and Music Festival at Desert Breeze Skate Park. The 2007 Extreme Thing, to be held Saturday, is to feature bands such as The Ataris, Static-X and Unwritten Law.
View File PhotoBMX rider Dustin "Radio" Niall competes at last year?s Extreme Thing Action Sports and Music Festival at Desert Breeze Skate Park. Besides a BMX competition, this year?s festival also will include the Adrenaline Unleashed Wrestling Show with the Lucideros.
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Desert Breeze Skate Park is gearing up for the 2007 Extreme Thing Action Sports and Music Festival on Saturday. Gates to the park, located at 8275 W. Spring Mountain Road, will open at 11 a.m.
Bands scheduled to perform include: Bullet For My Valentine, Static-X, Unwritten Law, The Ataris, Escape The Fate, The Higher, Haste The Day, From Autumn To Ashes and I Am Ghost. Tickets cost $17 prior to Saturday or $20 at the gate, attendees can enjoy music, watch extreme sports and shop.
Lyon Davis, recreation specialist for Clark County Parks and Recreation, expects about 10,000 people to attend.
"We're expanding the stages to the parking lot areas, so we don't anticipate the event selling out," Davis said.
Parking is free and is located on the north side of Spring Mountain Road, across from the park.
New this year to the festival is the Flow Riders Mountain Bike Show from Vancouver Island, Canada, which will feature extreme mountain biking and jump tricks. Desert Breeze also is hosting the Vegas AmJam competition for amateur athletes during the festival. The competition includes skateboard, BMX and inline categories.
Perhaps the biggest draw to the event is the professional BMX competition, which will feature riders T.J. Lavin, Ricardo Laguna, Nathan Berkheimer and Jose Donoso.
"It's one of three different qualifiers for the X-Games," Davis said. "We didn't even set it up that way, but the top riders kept coming, so it just happened. All the guys come out and they just hang out, including Las Vegas local T.J. Lavin. He comes out and jumps and competes. He's super cool."
According to Laguna, there is a 7 1/2-foot jump with a scaffold in the middle that riders will have to jump off of, an "island up and island down," and "the showboat."
"It's nice and big. You can wind it down and go for broke," Laguna said of the showboat jump.
Another popular part of the competition is when the BMX riders take on the tower.
"They come flying out of the hole. It's massive," Davis said. "They're really talented athletes."
Riders will be doing three runs each and judges will be using the best out of three to calculate the highest score.
"You have to make it your best race over and over," Laguna said. "It's a little bit different flavor."
The Ricardo Laguna Pro BMX Dirt Challenge is named for the 24-year-old local professional dirt jumper and racer-turned-architect.
"It's going to be a little different and it will have stuff that's never been done before on a dirt course," Laguna said. "We've been fortunate enough that we've built a reputation as one of the best dirt tracks. The riders appreciate it and they know there's more opportunity to mix it up while they're riding because it's one of the best courses."
Laguna requested three extra days to build the track because of the new jumps he plans to build.
"I know it's possible, I just have to figure it out," he said.
"We brought in 400 tons of dirt for the event to make a whole track," Davis said.
Laguna said it could even be double that amount by Saturday.
"I try to make it challenging, but not so much that you can't clear a jump," Laguna said, adding, "A kid that's only been riding for a year might have a hard time."
Professionals competing in the BMX challenge are riding for a $5,000 purse.
This year's festival also will feature the Adrenaline Unleashed Wrestling Show with the Lucideros.
"They wear leather masks and it's kind of goofy, but it's fun," Davis said.
At the sports festival village, there will be plenty of vendors and shopping as well as some Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters signing autographs and a Hart and Huntington Tattoo booth, according to Davis. Vendors will be selling T-shirts, hats, beanies, jewelry, sunglasses, skateboards and anything else that has to do with music or extreme sports.
"We've added elements like the carnival and more vendors," Davis said.
Patrons can enjoy food and other refreshments, such as tacos, sno cones, espresso, pizza, hot dogs and hamburgers. Lyon said festival-goers can expect a mix of choices for their palates.
The carnival will have bungee rides, paintball wars, a mechanical bull and a mechanical surfboard.
"We were going to have toilet bowl racing, but it was too dangerous," Davis said.
The carnival price is separate from the cost of the admission ticket and will be available for purchase on-site. If patrons choose, they can purchase an admission package for the festival that includes a T-shirt and admission to the concert for $25.
There is no alcohol and no seating at the event. Further rules and information can be found at www.extremething.com.
Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets at Smith's and Robinson's May, at www.extremething.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or by phone at 474-4000. All tickets not purchased at the gate are subject to additional facility fees or service charges.
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