VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The Jackalope action sports festival is bringing in a big name to promote its new event from June 2-4 at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

Skateboarding icon Tony Hawk announced via video message at Wednesday’s Virginia Beach State of the City address (here at the 50-minute mark) he’ll host a special Tony Hawk “Vert Showdown” at the festival, featuring some of his “legendary friends.” It’s scheduled for the evening of Saturday, June 3. Other skateboarding events and competitions will also be held through the weekend.

And it’s not just skateboarding. The free festival will feature everything from bouldering and moto X to volleyball and skimboarding competitions.

Virginia Beach first announced the festival back in March of 2022, with city leaders and local actions sports athletes toasting the news. It fills in the slot formerly held by the Patriotic Festival, a country music festival that moved to Norfolk in 2022.

This is Jackalope’s first foray into the U.S., after more than a decade in Canada.

You can read more about Jackalope here. For more coverage of the State of the City, click here.