Pick a Location, Time and Date:

Choose an initial meeting point. It should be a spot that skaters know, to make things easy. For Emerica's Wild in the Streets in New York, we met at Autumn, a skate shop right across the street from the TF, a well-known spot. If you pick a skate shop as the meeting place, make sure to include them in all of your planning. For Emerica's Wild in the Streets in Athens, Greece, we met at the most famous skate spot in town. This worked well, but be sure not to pick a place that is an immediate bust or that may cause complaints from local businesses.
The time and date are important. Make sure it is clearly communicated. Being on time is critical, since staying in one place for too long may create problems with business owners or law enforcement.

Align with a Cause:

There is power in numbers, so let your voices be heard. What is your cause? A skatepark in your town? A local charity? Make sure you let the local media know about the event: a Wild in the Streets event is a great way to raise awareness for a good cause in the local skateboard community. See enclosed guide to media involvement.

Announce It:

Copy and distribute flyers, announce on local Web sites (including ours), do anything to get the word out! Try to make sure that every skater in the community is aware of the event before it happens.Be vague on the exact itinerary or route you will be following. You do not want to let people know beforehand where you will be going or you may find Johnny Law waiting for you when you arrive.

Be Prepared!:

Create another batch of flyers ("Day Of" flyers) to pass out on the day of the event. These flyers should detail the itinerary and routes you will be taking from spot to spot. A map is a nice touch. It can be hand drawn and have recognizable landmarks (i.e. street names, fast food restaurants, etc.)

Make sure the spots aren't too far apart. Remember that in addition to skateboarding to and from each spot, you'll be skating at each spot, so don't get carried away. Ideally, all your spots should be within a 2-3 mile or 4-5 km radius.

Try to give yourself an hour or less to skate at each spot and about a half hour or less to skate to each spot. Then do the math and put the exact times you'll be at each spot on your "Day Of" flyer, beginning with the initial meeting time. That way, if someone gets sidetracked, they know they can meet up with the group again at spot X at 3:00 p.m., or whatever.

Make sure the final meeting place and time is clear. In the event that something happens along the way that separates the group, if there is a known final meeting point, you can all regroup there and finish the day together.

Mix It Up:

Plan fun stuff along the way. Anything from impromptu Games of SKATE or Best Trick contests at each spot, to give-a-ways from sponsors, to finishing the day with a barbecue or block party, like we did at KCDC skate shop in Brooklyn for Emerica's Wild in the Streets in NYC. Be creative. You might plan to end at the local skatepark with a barbecue, or at the local shop with a video premiere. Have a party!

Be Safe and Have Fun!:

On the day of the event, there needs to be at least one person who knows the plan, and who takes charge of the event.

His/Her Responsibilities Include:

• Handing out the spot lists/flyers/maps.
• Instigating skating from spot to spot, to keep things moving along on schedule.
• Managing product giveaways, Best Trick contests, Games of SKATE, etc.
• Act as point man in case of problems or injuries.

There may be younger kids around, so having at least one responsible person is a good thing to do.

Under all circumstances, use your common sense and never instigate conflict or allow yourself to be dragged into confrontations of any sort. The goal of Emerica's Wild in the Streets is to uplift skateboarders and skateboarding within your local community. Don't let external or internal forces drag you down. You will only be falling into a trap, and setting back the cause. Remain above it and remain free.

Even if only three skateboarders show up, you will have achieved an incredible feat. You've made three new friends in your local skateboard community. And if you keep it fun, there will surely be more at the next Wild in the Streets you organize, and more after that. Never doubt your own power! You are the spark that creates the fire!

Making your Wild in the Streets event media-friendly in just a few easy steps.

These are simple suggestions: Feel free to do as much or as little of these ideas as you feel comfortable with.

Getting Started

Newspapers and local news stations like stories that they think their readers and viewers will be interested in. If you're in a smaller town, the fact that local kids got organized enough to create a skateboarding march through town may cause a lot of local interest. In a bigger city, that may not be enough. You may need to have a worthwhile cause involved, or create more of a human interest story.

Discuss logistical elements with others planning the event. Think like a reporter and a photographer to try to ensure good photo opportunities. What would your parents want to see if they were reading a newspaper article about local kids?

Be Knowledgeable

Select and invite key people in your skate community to be spokespersons who can talk to the media about your event. This should be someone with relevance in your group. They should be familiar with your work, and understand and be conversant with all of the details of Wild in the Streets.

Collect any relevant community information regarding skateboarding or action sports that will help give you a tie-in to local news. For example, in Philadelphia where this year's main Wild in the Streets event is hosted, there is controversy surrounding a legendary skate area called LOVE Park, which many local news outlets have covered. This information will be included in our media background material that we provide. Basically, ask yourself, "How can I use this local information to make my Wild in the Streets event more newsworthy"?

Have a Hook

A PR hook is the angle that makes a news story worthwhile to the editor. If you're raising money for a skatepark, or raising money for an injured friend, or a worthwhile charity, editors are far more likely to pay attention to your story.

Contact the Media

You can look online or in the phone book to find contact information for local TV and radio stations and newspapers. Call or email the editors, or walk into the office, and tell them what you're doing, and why. If you're shy, try to have someone who can speak well to call for you, so that the message will be communicated clearly. Do not underestimate the power that a well-spoken young person has on adults. If your parents are supportive of you and your skateboarding, have them get involved. Your community may have cable stations who do news or public affairs programming—include them as well. Think ahead when planning your media contact—news editors are more likely to give you attention if they see that you are thinking responsibly.

Confirm fax and e-mail addresses of media you have targeted for alerts/advisories/releases. Determine the most preferred distribution method for each media outlet. Don't hesitate to send the alert to more than one person in each news department.

Remember that newspapers, radio stations, and TV news broadcasts can do stories before your event to get the word out, too, and then cover the event afterward. If you want to get every skateboarder for 50 miles to come skate your spots, this is a great tool to spread the word.

Tools and Media Information

• Media Alerts are sent out three weeks before your event to all newsrooms. By submitting your own event, you will automatically create a custom Media Alert.
• Media Advisories are sent out the week before and the week of your event to all newsrooms.
• News Releases are sent out the afternoon after your event, with photos.

Take digital photos of the event. Select 1-2 great pictures to e-mail with your news release.

At the end of the day, fax and e-mail your press release to all media personnel on your list, whether they attended or not. E-mail the photo to those who would be interested. This will ensure maximum exposure afterward.