Local BMX professional and course creator Ricardo Laguna has put the “extreme” into Findlay Chevrolet’s Extreme Thing sports and music festival for the last four years. At 13, the festival has entered its teen years, which means the Ricardo Laguna Pro BMX Dirt Jump Competition will pull more gravity defying tricks than ever before. The challenge will take place on a specially designed course from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29. The festival is from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. All events take place at Desert Breeze Skate Park, 8275 Spring Mountain Road at Durango Drive. Tickets are $17 in advance, $20 day of show, if available. All ages are welcome.


Elite riders from around the world will compete in the season’s first National dirt contest of the year, where Laguna and Clark County Parks & Recreation create an extreme setting where riders will showcase their latest stunts in preparation for the upcoming season.


Renowned riders scheduled to compete include Australians Luke Parslow and Ryan Guettler and Dew Action Sports Tour reigning champion Antony Napoliton. Local competitors include Isaac McNeal, Kyle O’Hara and Reuel Erickson, who recently started the non-profit organization Action Sports United, which teaches children about the sport. Many of the riders competing also participate in the X Games and Dew Action Sports as well as other well-known contests worldwide.


Laguna, who came in second place at this year’s world championships, moved to Las Vegas at age 13 and graduated from Eldorado High School. The 25-year-old’s backyard, located in east Las Vegas, is his playground and canvas for future tracks.


In addition to extreme sports, this year’s festival will feature bands Pennywise, Chiodos, Escape the Fate, Nonpoint, Streetlight Manifesto, In This Moment, Scary Kids Scaring Kids and Alesana, professional wrestling by Adrenaline Unleashed and the Vegas AmJam Skate and BMX amateur competition. The XPOZ Zone also will welcome seven local bands performing in the smoke-free zone promoting the www.smokefreescene.com.


Only a personal bottle of water can be brought to the festival along with still cameras, sunscreen and cash, as there is no ATM on site and no re-entry. An array of food will be available, from barbecue to Thai, along with beverages. No alcohol will be sold. No animals, coolers, weapons or chairs are permitted.


Sponsors include: Findlay Chevrolet , Jillian’s Las Vegas, 107.5 FM Xtreme Radio, City Life, My LVTV, The CW Las Vegas, XPOZ House of Blues and Clark County  Parks & Recreation.


Those interested can visit the Web site at www.extremething.com. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com, at www.hob.com or by phone at  (702) 474-4000. Additional information can be found by calling Clark County Parks and Recreation at (702) 455-8200 or visiting the web site at www.accessclarkcounty.com/parks.