Hit the Deck

SUN 8/14
Dan Askew, Adrian Frost and Nick Owen share an entrepreneurial spirit that has made their store, Escapist Skateboarding (234 Northeast Barry Road, 816-436-2504), a staple in the Northland since it opened in 2000. (The Overland Park outpost opened at 11648 West 135th Street in 2004.) Their loyal customers know that the guys running the show at both spaces are also fanatical skateboarders — guys who put on events out of pure love for the sport and to help strengthen the local scene.

At 6 p.m. Sunday, the Northland store welcomes Zoo York, a well-known skateboarding collective based on the East Coast. Escapist has done more than 20 similar events, but Askew tells us that this may be the most heavily attended skateboarding demo yet — great expectations considering the last one drew nearly 900 fans.

Pros and amateurs will be on hand to sign gear before heading to Pleasant Valley Skate Park (at the intersection of North Brighton and Pleasant Valley Road) for an exhibition. Askew expects the audience to get into the act, too: “We like to start with just the pros, but eventually the kids get impatient and want to get out there and show their moves.” — Todd Broockerd

Free Willy
That pun was intended.

SAT 8/13
With its cathartic smash-the-state slogans and infinite possibilities, anarchism boasts an appeal that few movements can match. Far less glamorous is vegetarianism, often cruelly depicted as the province of drab, humorless wheatgrass grazers. Saturday’s Animal Liberation Benefit at Solidarity Radical Library (1119 Massachusetts, 785-865-1374) manages to fuse the two, dangling lures such as sweet, creature-friendly desserts and sexually explicit film footage. The first short film of the evening’s double feature, a “trans-polysexual docu-porno” (its makers say) called “The G-Sprout,” suggests in graphic terms that vegetarians just taste better. “The Witness,” a documentary about a tough Brooklyn construction contractor turned cat-cuddling animal advocate, proves that hearts melt easier than vegan cheese. In a presentation before the movies, Animal Outreach members Aryenish Birdie, who spearheaded the “veal-free Lawrence” campaign, and Patrick Tyrrell, regional organizer of Primate Liberation Week and Fur-Free Friday, place the animal-rights movement in a global context, drawing parallels to global oppression and exploitation. The event starts at 8 p.m., and organizers request $2-$5 donations.

— Andrew Miller
Have Mercer
Where does this photographer dwell?

FRI 8/12
For all of artist Ben Mercer‘s efforts not to make race an issue, the press materials for his show certainly do. “I’m very much aware of my heritage, but I do not dwell there in my drawings,” he’s quoted as saying. Elsewhere, the release mentions that Mercer, an African-American, “might seem like a surprising choice to explore Vietnamese culture.” Whaddya say, kids: Let’s just let the work speak for itself. The Vietnamese Among Us, a photographic essay peppered with original paintings and drawings, opens from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s African-American History and Culture House (5245 Rockhill Road, 816-235-5641) and remains up through September 23. — Annie Fischer

Pretty in Pink

Run, walk and punch for the cure.

SUN 8/14
Hit like a girl? Of course you do. So throw a swing at a pink punching bag — to represent the fight against breast cancer — at the Visions of Hope traveling exhibit, part of this year’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at Union Station (30 West Pershing Road). The exhibit, which is free and open from 6:30 to 11 a.m., gives participants an opportunity to learn about cancer detection and treatment options. — Rebecca Braverman