Emily Kafoa had planned to watch the awesome sight of extreme athletes tearing up a floating half-pipe at next month’s Buskers by the Creek. Then she received an invitation to do the same with her beloved crew from Girls Skate Gold Coast.
“When I heard it was coming back this year, I thought ‘I’m definitely going to see it this time’ and then the organisers contacted me to say they wanted us to be part of the show. I thought it’d be cool to just watch others from the shoreline but now I’m going to be out there with them.
After a two-year hiatus, the legendary floating half-pipe will return to the award-winning Buskers by the Creek from October 19-20, providing the most memorable of stages for an assortment of talented BMX and skateboard riders to showcase their best tricks and flips. Among them will be Kafoa, who has established herself as a trailblazer in the local skate community by founding Girls Skate Gold Coast, which is encouraging more females to take up the sport thanks to regular meet-ups and events at local parks and a growing social media presence.
“We’ve got some incredible girl skaters and they’re not just good ‘girl skaters’ – they’re amazing skaters full-stop. Some of the chicks are literally crazy with what they can do on a board.”
Stars such as Taniah Myers, Haylie Powell and Mistie Mildenhall are expected to showcase their talents on the floating half-pipe, an event sponsored by Coast Creek Country Realty, Gold Coast Barges, Maclift Cranes and Impact Ramps.
“It will take a skilled team of semi-trailer drivers, crane operators, riggers and barge operators several hours to transport, set up and secure the 20 tonne of barge and 2 tonne of half-pipe and we could not be more appreciative of them,” said Creek founder and director Cindy Jensen.
Having earned a reputation as a world-leading busking festival since 2014, Buskers by the Creek will return to Currumbin from October 18-20 with more than 300 local, national and international acts to entertain an expected 20,000-plus people across 14 stages. The prestigious ‘Battle of the Buskers’ will also see top singer/songwriters go guitar to banjo on the 18th October to win a suite of coveted prizes, with last year’s champion Tones and I having since gone on to boast three hit songs in the ARIA Charts, including No. 1 smash Dance Monkey.
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