LOS ANGELES--Jan. 21, 1998--Onstage, multiplatinum Columbia recording artists The Offspring and Grammy-nominated Mesa/Bluemoon reggae stars Steel Pulse will perform at a day of continuous music with other artists to be announced soon. Adjacent to the stage there will be a skateboarding halfpipe, snowboard big-air jump, double-barrel snowboard halfpipe, a "Festival of Awareness" area, pro demos and lessons and equipment displays. The day will benefit LIFEbeat, the music-industry-fights- AIDS organization.

"Board AID (TM) for LIFEbeat" is the longest-running and most prestigious charitable event in all of the board sports industries. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Airwalk, developer of specialized snowboarding equipment, has joined WARP Magazine to present the event. Past participants have included Seal, Beastie Boys, The Go-Go's, 311, Sublime, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Porno for Pyros, Bad Religion, Rage Against the Machine, Biohazard, Helmet, face to face, 7 Year Bitch, Anthrax, Wax, House of Pain and Unwritten Law.

Last year, more than 4,500 spectators showed up to board and party with A Tribe Called Quest, the Pharcyde, blink-182, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Hepcat, Chixdiggit and hed (pe), in addition to top snowboarding pros like Tina Basich, Todd Richards, Circe Wallace, Noah Brandon and Shannon Dunn, among dozens of others. Skateboarding pros included Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Andy Macdonald and Adil Dyani. The first four "Board AIDS (TM)" have raised more than $470,000 for LIFEbeat.

Board AID (TM) was envisioned by Fran Richards, general manager of TransWorld Media. The goal of "Board AID (TM)" is for snowboarders, skateboarders, musicians and celebrities to deliver a credible, lifesaving message to their peers.

The statistics speak for themselves. Estimates are that one to two Americans between 13 and 21 are infected with HIV every hour of every day. In 1996, snowboarding was the fastest-growing winter sport in the world, according to the National Sporting Goods Association, with teens making up 90 percent of snowboarding participants, while one in four American boys skateboards. "Board AID (TM) for LIFEbeat" has two equal and primary goals: to raise money for teenagers living with HIV/AIDS and to prevent further infection through education. These sports are the perfect vehicles for getting the word out.