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Tacoma's street skateboarders know what it means to be shunned. Whether it's getting yelled at by shopkeepers or handed tickets from the police, the message to the city's kickflippers has been clear for years:

Go home. Tacoma doesn't want you or your stinking skateboard.

But ever-so-slowly, Tacoma is rolling back its harsh stance on skateboarding. In 2009, the City of Tacoma authorized the removal of hundreds of metal skateboard stoppers from Thea's Park, essentially legalizing skating within the park's boundaries. Earlier this month, the city took steps to change a decades-old ban on using a skateboard as a transportation device in the downtown area.

And on June 21, hundreds of Tacoma skateboards will crowd Tollefson Plaza in celebration of the world-wide Go Skateboarding Day. The event in Tacoma is appropriately titled Go Skate Tacoma. Skateboarders of all ages can enjoy pop shuvits down the stairs, grinds on the boxes and cruising the smooth ground without fear of retribution from the dreaded Five-O. In fact, Tacoma Police will be on hand to make sure the one-day event, Go Skate Tacoma, runs smoothly.

Go Skate Tacoma coordinator Ben Warner hopes a successful event in Tollefson Plaza on June 21 will go a long way toward changing common misconceptions about skateboarders.

"Along with the skaters, we're also trying to invite community members to come down and see what skateboarding is all about," says Warner. "Hopefully we can eliminate some of the negative connotations about skateboarders."

To read Brett Cihon's full story click here.

[Tollefson Plaza, Go Skate Tacoma with Mayor Marilyn Strickland, Music by Red Hex, Wheelies, Si Si Si, June 21, 2 - 10 p.m., Free, All Ages, Commerce St. and S. 17th St., Tacoma]