Today is national Go Skateboarding Day, where skateboarders around the globe celebrate the pure exhilaration, creativity, and spirit of one of the most influential activities in the world by blowing off all other obligations to go ... skateboarding. OK, most skateboarders do this every day of their lives, but this is just one more reason to blow off your television/computer/video games and go 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. In 2011, the city took steps to change a decades-old ban on using a skateboard as a transportation device in the downtown area.

Saturday, June 21, hundreds of Tacoma skateboards will crowd Tollefson Plaza in celebration of the worldwide celebration. The Alchemy Indoor sponsored Go Skate Tacoma invites skateboarders of all ages to 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 runs smoothly.

Grab your helmet, tighten your wheels and spend a day popping ollies in Tollefson Plaza with fellow skateboarders - or at least look cool on the sidelines while you watch everyone else.

Schedule of Events

• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free skate clinic (sign up at alchemyindoor.com)
• 2-3 p.m. Slopestyle competition and open plaza skate
• 3-6 p.m. Competition (17 and younger, 18+, 35+, Best Trick Ramp/Street, Hippie Jump/High Ollie), open skate sessions slopestyle slide jam and regular comps
• 7 p.m. After Party with music by A Leaf, Wheelies and Rockwell Powers at Grit City Grindhouse