Founder and executive producer of the Jackalope Festival Micah Desforges was at the Digital Desk. Watch in the video player on this page.


VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The high adrenaline Jackalope Festival is returning to the Oceanfront for 2024.

The festival will take place from May 31 to June 2 near Neptune Park in Virginia Beach, and will include skateboarding, bouldering, skimboarding and base jumping competitions, freestyle motocross and BMX demos and many talented athletes.

The event, presented by Tribu, will be back for the second year. Last year’s inaugural event drew about 50,000 spectators, according to organizers.

“The energy of the Virginia Beach community has made participants want to push their performances even farther, without a doubt,” said Micah Desforges, Founding President of TRIBU and producer of the JACKALOPE series, in a news release. “The welcome we received from the municipality and public, in addition to these supercharged performances, will remain etched in our memories forever. We created history last year at Virginia Beach, which resulted in the production of an original North American series.”

The festival is free and open to all, whether you are interested in participating in the high-energy sports or watching the competition.

Desforges spoke to WAVY at the Digital Desk ahead of this year’s festival, offering a preview of what visitors and competitors will see. Watch the segment in the video player on this page.

An all new vert ramp contest and cash prizes will also be included this year. All eyes will likely be on Collin Graham, a professional vert skater from Virginia Beach. The local sensation has more than 13 thousand followers on Instagram alone.

“We’ve got lots of people coming up for the event,” said Desforges. “We’ve got local hero Collin Graham, which is a vert skater right now competing at X-games and all those big events. We also have international pros coming from Canada, Brazil, Argentina and all across the U.S. of course.”

A lot of established, professional athletes will be at the Oceanfront ready to compete.

What’s unique, is there will also be a lot of up-and-coming athletes. This includes events for kids under seven-years-old, who are learning to skate and will compete in a friendly environment. There are still a few spots left if you want to register your kids.

There are competition levels for younger kids, 16 and under, an open category for anyone and the professionals.

“Our goal is really to inspire the youth and inspire everyone to kind of renew their path with action sports, try it out, maybe if they have a board or have a pair of climbing shoes,” Desforges said. “I think it’s a very unique environment where we can see all those communities coming together. There’s no other event like this.”

Some guests from last year are back again.

One familiar face is Chad Caruso. Last year, he culminated his skate across the U.S. at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. This year, you can skate along with him in a special event on the boardwalk. Find out more at the link here.

Another new feature this year is live music.

“We’re very fortunate to have some amazing talent,” Desforges said.

There will be some names announced soon. Keep an eye on the website for the latest updates.

Like last year, there will also be DJs will playing music all weekend long.

The action-sports activity continues across North America. Jackalope now has three festivals this year. Virginia Beach kicks off the 2024 season next week. The other two are in Canada, in Mississauga from July 12-14 and Montreal from September 13-15.

Desforges said Virginia Beach is very welcoming, creating a unique atmosphere for the festival.

“To have the Jackalope festival on the beach, on the sand, and have that celebration of the roots of action-sports culture in Virginia Beach by the water, I think it’s super cool and unique,” Desforges said. “But it also creates a postcard for all Canadian, international and domestic tourists looking for a cool destination, family-friendly destination.”

While Jackalope is free and open to the public, passes for events and athlete registration will also be available for purchase on their website here.

The Shredder pass allows participants to try out some of the activities throughout the festival like Vert and street skateboarding.

There’s plenty of action to watch or there are still some spots left to jump in and participate. Click here to plan your weekend schedule.

A full list of items permitted at Jackalope can be found below:

  • Empty plastic or reusable water bottle
  • Lunch
  • Small backpacks and purses (All bags will be searched)
  • Sunscreen
  • Digital cameras
  • Disposable cameras
  • Strollers
  • Your board

Click here for the list of participating athletes, experiences, registration and other info. The full schedule is available now.

Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.