Taste of the Kingsway 2022 - The Kingsway, Toronto Ontario, Canada

Event Description:

Taste of the Kingsway is a street festival in the West end of Toronto's Kingsway neighborhood.  This year Art on Deck participated for the first time in the festival and featured some local and regional artists from across Ontario.

Art on Deck's mission is to help support the growth of skateboarding by elevating and promoting independent, local, regional and national artists and skateboard brands. 

It was a huge success being able to partner with artists and connect with art and skateboard enthusiasts. The Kingsway neighborhood is a lively, welcoming and warm community and we were thrilled to be a part of this event.

The Booth Setup:

The setup includes a popup tent from ABCCanopy, Easels and Clothing rack from Eddie's Hang-Up Display,  Skateboard display racks by ProBoardRacks, and banners by St Clair Graphics.

Custom Complete Skateboards:

We proudly carry a number of Canadian skate brands, and we wanted to feature some custom completes for the festival to showcase these amazing products and brands.  We took our time to assemble some custom cruisers and street boards from Afternoon, The Motif Brand, Studio Skateboards, Atlantic Aire, Pâle, M.A.R.S, Cutts and Bows, and ULC. 

We custom matched them with Silver branded trucks, and professional skateboard wheels, to come up with some amazing looking setups.

Atlantic Aire "East Point" Cruiser with Winkowski OJ Wheels and Silver Hollowlight Trucks with Yellow Baseplates:

Afternoon "To The Moon" football style cruiser with Gold and Black Industrial trucks and Cruzade cruiser wheels:

Cutts & Bows "Bull Trout" Cruiser with Silver Hollowlight Trucks with red baseplates and Cruzade cruiser wheels:

Studio Andrew McGraw "The Dunk" 8.25" with Silver M-Class trucks and ULC Round Weapon wheels:

The Motif Brand "Roses" 8.25", Silver M-Class trucks with Chocolate chunk wheels:

The Motif Brand "Frog Fish" 8.0", Industrial solid white trucks with Meow wheels:

M.A.R.S "Labyrinth" with Silver M-Class trucks and M.A.R.S wheels:

ULC "Shadows" one Off with Tensor aluminum trucks

Wheels Brands

Skateboard Wheels are essential for any setup, and we were proud to showcase some incredible skateboard wheel brands from Canada including M.A.R.S, Retna Wheel Co. and ULC "You". 

Artist Statement:

Dwelling tells a story about the shelters that people live or dwell in.

I like exploring the human condition by depicting architectural structures we build that shelter, but also represent our lives, our stories, and our lived experiences. 

While studying art in school (University of Waterloo), I had an interest in prehistoric art and dwellings.  My studies led me and inspired me to create a series of works called the Primitive Series.  Part of an original work from this series, called Dwelling, was taken/used for this Skateboard ...

When I see this part of dwelling presented horizontally on a skateboard, the dwelling depicted appears appears to be made with manual labor by people and with materials from the earth, not by machines or using synthetic materials.  The scene is about our drive to thrive and survive on earth throughout time and space.”

• "Mandala" by Sandy Richter

Artist Statement:

The rainbow texture in the background represents the joy, high energy, chaos and spontaneity of color in contrast to the peace, structure and meditative qualities of the mandala. The layering represents all of the places and spaces between these two points of view. 

Original Artist-Made Decks & DIY Skateboard Art Kit

 For the Taste of the Kingsway event, we commissioned two original pieces of skateboard art by local Toronto artists, Tara Elaschuck and Rangrem Arts.  These hand-painted creations showcasing local talent were proudly on display for all to see.  We enjoyed meeting and working with these two local artists and were proud to support and showcase their work. 

As an experiment product offering, we decided to put together a kit for painting/designing a DIY graphic on a blank skateboard deck.  The kit includes 1 x blank skateboard deck, paint markers, acrylic paints, stencils, paint brushes, and a clear coat in ultra-matte or gloss.  These artist kits are available with an 8.0" wide deck and a choice between an ultra-matte or a gloss clear coat. splay: inline !important; float: none.  These supplies are more than enough to cover one skateboard deck and can be used for other art projects too or for painting on more blank decks!

 The Taste of the Kingsway Street Festival - 2022 was an amazing experience.  The best part was being able to talk with the community and meet people who share an interest in skateboarding and art.   Art on Deck would like to thank the artists Tara Elaschuk, Rangprem Arts, Gloria Kagawa, the event organizers and to Miss Ontario for visiting and offering her support for our business.  We look forward to returning in 2023!