San Francisco – The Barbary Coast Skate will embrace and showcase the history of skating in San Francisco and demonstrate how skaters can interact with their local government and like minded partners to keep skating alive where they live. Skating for fitness, skating for transportation, skating for dance, skating for speed and just plain old skating for fun will all be bundled into this weekend. 

Here re are some of the people that will be working hard to be sure you have a funky good time in San Francisco!!!

Friday, July 8, 2016 – The San Francisco Friday Night Skate

What began with a small group of skaters rolling on the earthquake damaged Embarcadero Freeway in 1989 grew into over 700+ skaters rolling through the streets of San Francisco every Friday night.  Our example spread to other cities like Los Angeles, Amsterdam, London, Frankfort and more cities in the U.S. and abroad.  The largest Friday Night Skate happened in Paris where they had over 35,000 skaters participating.

On Friday, July 8, we will kick off Skate San Francisco – The Barbary Coast Experience rolling with The Midnight Rollers on San Francisco’s Friday Night Skate. We meet at the Ferry Building at Market and the Embarcadero at about 8:00 P.M.  We will take off at 9:00 P.M. for a rolling skate party that winds through a 12-mile loop through the City.    Our route will take us to Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Aquatic Park, the Marina, the Palace of Fine Arts, Union Street, the Broadway Tunnel, the Stockton Tunnel, Union Square, the “Concrete Canyons” and back to the Ferry Building where we began.

For a great many people, the San Francisco Friday Night Skate is the greatest time you can have with wheels on your feet.  It’s always a funky good time!!!

Saturday, July 9, 2016 – The Church of 8 Wheels

A church is not a building, but is a fellowship of people, who form a spiritual community. The Church of 8 Wheels is a fellowship of people that celebrates life on wheels, 8 wheels in particular!!! We love skating. We form a bond with others who rejoice on a beautiful day with great people and family that make up our flock. We are a caring, sharing and giving community of people that loves life with wheels on their feet – and now we have a building too!!!  It's the Church of 8 Wheels - San Francisco Roller Disco!!!

The Church of 8 Wheels is one of those unique happenings that expresses the essence of what makes San Francisco such a great place to live!!! It has been honored as "Best of the Bay” 2014 and 2015 in San Francisco Magazine, "Best of the Bay” 2014 and 2015 S.F. Weekly, "Best of the Bay 2014" S.F. Bay Guardian, huge write ups in the S.F. Chronicle, Examiner and other blogs and websites both here and abroad!!!

From 7PM to 11PM there will be a roller disco party for all participants. Spreading “rolligion” is what we do here and David “D” Miles, the “GodFather of Skate” in San Francisco will be your MC/DJ minister spreading the word of the old school funk and roller disco music that is the main source of our rolligious energy.  As we always do, we're going have a funky good time!!!

Sunday, July 10, 2016 - The Barbary Coast Roller Marathon and Half Marathon

Finally, inline and roller speed skating has come back to San Francisco. The 1st annual Barbary Coast Roller Marathon is a 26.2 mile skate race along San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. There is also a 13.1 mile half marathon with the event. With the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop, skaters will race along the four (4) mile road course along San Francisco Pacific coast on the Great Highway.

The Barbary Coast Roller Marathon and Half Marathon is designed to give all levels of skaters a fantastic skating experience. It's great racing for the hard core racers.  It's a high mark of accomplishment for the fitness skater or enthusiast.  It's an absolute blast for the recreational skater. There is a little something for all. You can wear 4 wheel blades, 5 wheel blades or even "quad" conventional roller skates.

  Skatin’ Place – 6^th Ave. and Kennedy Drive, Golden Gate Park

We will finish epic weekend of skating in San Francisco at a place that is an example of what every city should have in its parks.  There is a happy place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park that is heaven for Bay Area inline skaters and roller skaters who like to boogie to the funky beat on wheels. The area is called, "Skatin' Place".  It is located at 6th Avenue and Kennedy Drive in the park. It has been officially dedicated and recognized as the home for outdoor roller skating in the San Francisco.

Skaters have been rollin' here since the roller disco days of 1979 when it was common to see 15,000 to 20,000 people flocking to the park  to skate on Sundays when there are no cars.  The closed roads become a safe recreational paradise for runners, walkers, skaters, cyclists and others who were looking to escape the pressures of the fast paced city lifestyle and enjoy themselves in a lush, green, sylvan park environment. It was and still to this day is an absolutely wonderful scene and a great way to spend the day in San Francisco.

On Sunday, July 10, after the race at the beach, we will hold the awards ceremony at Skatin’ Place.