Party on wheels: Skate Parade Utrecht

Skate babies

The scale of the event has grown over the years. ‘We used to have a radio and a couple of speakers attached to a pram. Nothing like the music truck we use nowadays’, Remy laughs. Around fifty volunteer skaters control the traffic, and a few first-aiders follow the string at the back. Thanks to good will from the municipal council, the procession is free to skate through the prettiest streets in Utrecht.

There are occasional hold-ups for cars or cyclists, but according to Remy, most people are enthusiastic. ‘We take a different route every week, and we’re through in no time.’ There’s hardly any disturbance at the spot where they congregate either; all traces of the Parade disappear as quickly as the skaters themselves. Apart from the odd skater who leaves home too late of course… Even when you come alone, it’s easy to join in. ‘We see a lot of people who’ve just moved to Utrecht and want to meet people through skating. That makes sense, as it’s an easy way of getting to know people’, says Remy. ‘In fact, a couple even got together through skating. They now have kids and the kids have skated with us too.’ These ‘skate babies’ are practically old enough now to help with the organisation side, he laughs.

Exercising together

Iris van Meer is among the skaters. She’s with friends she met at the Parade and makes quite an impression with her dreadlocks and flared flowery trousers. ‘It’s a real mix: there are children, seniors, a lot of queer people’, she explains. ‘But we have one thing in common: we’re all here to exercise, and that helps us move along together.’

On some Fridays, everyone looks the same: these are the themed evenings. ‘During Pride week, for example, we have a Rainbow Skate. And at the end of the season, there’s a White Skate. It gets dark early, so we want to make sure we’re visible by wearing white’, says Remy.

Iris has been taking part for three years and comes down specially from Amsterdam every week. Although skate tours are organised there too, as there they are in Zwolle and Amersfoort, none of these events attract as many people as the one in Utrecht, says Remy. ‘Perhaps it’s because of all the students and thirty-year-olds who live here. They’re very enthusiastic and make up a large part of the group.’

Techno-beats

The skaters directly behind the DJ truck raise their hands and make the shape of a house. Those behind them soon do the same. ‘That’s a sign to get into groups’, Remy explains. ‘It keeps the string compact, and gives the volunteers a chance to skate to the front. Crossing your arms means there’s a level crossing coming up.’

The group congregates for the last time on Oudenoord. The sun has set and the DJ, MinusFive, tells the participants to switch on their flashlights, which they wave in the air to the sound of the techno-beats while skating their final metres. ‘MinusFive usually skates with us’, says Iris. ‘He knows exactly which music will keep the group going.’ This evening’s hard beats aren’t typical of the Skate Parade: the DJ and the music changes every week, just like the route and the participants. Weather permitting, they’ll skate through the streets of Utrecht every Friday evening until late September.

every Friday evening, starting at Lucasbolwerk

u-skateparade.nl