The coming-of-age surfing movie, Beautiful Wave, will premiere next Thursday, August 23rd at the Hermosa Community Center to support the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation and Hermosa Beach Historical Society.

Beautiful Wave was filmed in Mexico and California. The screenplay was written by Lynn Salt & David Mueller; and John Harris. It is directed by David Mueller. It is a drama set in Santa Cruz, California. The main character Nicole (played by Aimee Teegarden) lives with her grandmother (played by Patricia Richardson) for a summer and begins to surf. She also uncovers a family secret.

All proceeds from the event will go to support the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation, a non-profit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization, which provides free of charge its unique program of Ocean Therapy, an adaptive surfing program to assist individuals coping with mental and physical illness in accessing the ocean environment.

The evening will also support The Hermosa Beach Historical Society, which was established to preserve and chronicle the history of Hermosa Beach.

The screening takes place at The Hermosa Beach Community Center which is located at 710 Pier Avenue (the large building on the southwest corner of Pier Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway).

Presale tickets are $7 and available at Dive ‘N Surf or ET Surfboards, or you can get tickets for $10 at the door.

Doors open at 6:00pm. Movie starts at 7:30pm
There will be beverages, as well as raffle and giveaway prizes for the kids.
For more info, go to http://www.beautifulwave.com. Continue reading →

Dukes OceanFest, held each summer in Waikiki, will take place this Saturday, August 18th. Now in its 11th year, the OceanFest honors Hawaiian Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, who is remembered as the greatest waterman who ever lived, and Hawaii’s ambassador of Aloha. The 8-day event features a variety of ocean sports that were close to Duke Kahanamoku’s heart including Longboard Surfing, Paddleboard Racing, Swimming, Tandem Surfing, Surf Polo, Beach Volleyball, and Stand-Up Paddling.

The festival celebrates Duke Kahanamoku’s life, his athletic contributions, and his positive spirit that still lives on. Among his many accomplishments, Duke Kahanamoku was an Olympic gold medal swimmer, a surfer, an esteemed canoe steersman, a Hollywood actor, and the Sheriff of Honolulu.

Duke’s OceanFest is also a fundraiser for scholarships for the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation which supports local scholar athletes.

The festivities commence on August 18 with a lei draping and ceremony at Duke’s statue that is open to the public. Duke’s birthday celebration is on August 24^th, which is one of the week’s best highlights. Other events also include the KINE Luau and Waterman’s Awards. The ocean sports events include several surfing events, including a Keiki Surf Competition, a Wahine Longboard Competion, a Kane Longboard Competition, and tandem events. There are also volleyball and soccer championships, and a challenging run-swim-paddle race.

For the entire event calendar, go to http://www.dukesoceanfest.com/events/range.listevents/

Continue reading →

The world’s best surfers are converging at the infamous South Pacific reef pass of Teahupo’o this week for Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti, to be held from August 16 – 27, 2012.

Located in the small town of Teahupo’o off the south-east side of Tahiti Island, a surf break known as Chopes produces heavy, glassy waves with swells that get as large as 12ft, earning a reputation as the world’s largest wave machine. The beach is a reef break, mainly left-breaking but the outer reef also creates right breaks that surfers must be cautious of when paddling out. Chopes ranks at the top of an experienced surfer’s must ride list and is only recommended for those who are in peak physical condition.

Last year the Teahupo’o event was won by reigning 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA). It also featured a barrier-breaking tow-in session dubbed ‘Code Red.’ The surfing world eagerly anticipates the return of this season’s Billabong Pro Tahiti and the impact it will have on the 2012 ASP World Title race.

At this time, Mick Fanning (AUS), 31, two-time ASP World Champion (2007, 2009) is the current No. 1 on the ASP World Championship Tour ratings, but remains guarded about holding the frontrunner spot at this point in the season. Although an event runner-up in the past (2007), Fanning has been unable to crack the Quarterfinals in recent years, which he hopes to change this season.

According to an ASP press release, Fanning has noted that “Tahiti’s a tricky venue to do well even for the very best guys. At a venue where one big barrel can turn a heat, there’s always going to be upsets. So the biggest challenge is making sure you’re on the best waves in the heat and you get yourself nice and deep in that barrel.”

Just before the big event, the Air Tahiti Nui VonZipper Trials winner and highest placed Tahitian both earn wildcards into the Billabong Pro main event.

“The Tahitian wildcards and trialists at Teahupo’o have done some real damage in the past,” Fanning said. “The locals are obviously psyched to see the Tahitians do well and they get out there in their boats and give them an incredible amount of support. Then there’s the specialists – guys that generally spend a fair bit of time at Chopes. They’re there a week before the trials and have already surfed a few heats out there before you come up against them, so they are completely in the zone and ready to go.”

No doubt, there will be stiff competition. Who do you think has this one wrapped up? Continue reading →

The thousands of surfing spectators are gone and our pro surfers are now headed to Teahupoo now that the US Open has crowned Australia’s Julian Wilson and USA’s Lakey Peterson winners this past weekend in Huntington Beach, CA.

Now it’s time to give some focus on the East Coast.

Stoked Mentoring, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is using the formerly taboo sports of snowboarding, surfing, and skating to teach inner city kids valuable life skills. Stoked’s mission is to promote personal development, academic achievement, and healthy living to under-served youth through action sports culture. Since their inception in 2005, 2,100 youth have been served. Their mission is to empower all youth with the tools and resources to succeed in the future.

This Saturday, August 11^th from 10am – 2pm, Stoked will be throwing a summer beach party at Rockaway Beach (69^th Street) with yoga, surf lessons, surf demos, a ping pong tournament and of course food. It’s a great event to showcase how Stoked changes youths’ lives through surfing!

To purchase tickets and information, go to www.stoked.org/stokedbeachpartyny. Proceeds will help Stoked Mentoring and their partnerships with a vast array of public schools and other non-profit organizations. Continue reading →

The Pacific Festival is back, and the date is set for Sunday, September 2nd, 2012! This year, expect a new cool venue… The Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort and Marina, which is located on the water’s edge of the Pacific Ocean, and promises to bring a whole new vibe!

Last year’s event was held at Oak Canyon Ranch near Irvine Lake. Snoop Dogg was the official festival headliner and was joined with over 50 of independent music’s most talented live acts and DJs from around the world. Five stages housed the likes of: Cut Copy, Black Lips, The Twelves, Fred Falke, Adam Salter, and special dueling decks set by Calvin Harris and Steve Aoki himself. This year’s line-up is still to be announced.

Like last year, The Dunes will showcase favorite live music acts, mix of genres, not covering just dance music or just indie rock. There will also be the best local foods and lots of other surprises that organizers will be announcing closer to this year’s event on Labor Day Weekend.

Pacific Festival Entertainment is the vision of two groups of longtime friends with a combined 40 years of experience in music and event production. Steve Aoki, world-renowned DJ and founder of Dim Mak Records, and Mike Tunney, founder of Collaborative Media, have been friends for over 25 years, growing up together in Newport Beach. As their first business venture, Aoki and Tunney wanted to create a new music and arts festival for the Orange County community that connects culture with community; art with music; and entertainment with philanthropy, thus successfully launching the festival just last year.

Dawn Patrol pre-sale tickets are on-sale now for Pacific Festival. Organizers are releasing a limited batch of discounted General Admission tickets at $40 for loyal friends and fans. This year’s event will have 1 main stage and support entertainment areas. Tickets to this year’s event are limited and will be priced at $55-$75. 18+ age for admission.

Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort & Marina
1131 Back Bay Dr
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Sunday, September 2, 2012 from 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM (PT)

For more information, go to http://pacificfestival.com/ or stay tuned to their official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pacificfestival as they roll out the rest of the details. Continue reading →