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The 4th Annual California Surf Festival begins this Thursday, October 13th – 16th in Oceanside, California. Enjoy four exciting, action-packed days featuring multi-talented musicians, jaw-dropping surf film premieres plus appearances by today’s top surf pros and legends to celebrate the lifestyle of beach-goers and wave riders alike. This international event will bring people from all over the world to experience surf culture through films, music, art, photography and interaction with those who embody the culture as well as highlight the surf community of California. Proceeds will benefit the California Surf Museum (CSM).

Set against the back-drop of the CSM’s latest exhibits, attendees and guests will be entertained with a ukulele musical presentation and documentary, as well as several surf film premieres including the USA Premiere for the documentary, Oceanides, sponsored by Keep A Breast Foundation.

Other surf films to check out include Splinters, a top surf film that world-premiered at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival, and is about the first-ever National Surfing Championship in Papua New Guinea and how it changed the lives of several surfers from the host village of Vanimo, and the return of the CSF’s first winner of the Big Shorts From Little Groms filmmakers contest, Victor Pakpour. He will showcase his first feature surf film, Blow Up, which you may remember was the flick Billabong sponsored for its world premiere this past June. Closing the Festival will be the annual Silver Surfer Award, which will be presented to San Diego’s legendary surfer and shaper, Skip Frye.

The California Surf Film Festival was produced as a benefit by the CSM in Oceanside, and will include, in addition to the three mentioned above, many other exciting and groundbreaking new surf films with many of the filmmakers in the audience.

For more information and how to purchase tickets, check out www.californiasurffestival.com.

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ESPN The Magazine’s third annual “The Body Issue,” arrives on newsstands last week, Friday, October 7th. Over 20 athletes will appear naked, with their private parts strategically covered, as part of the issue titled “Bodies We Want.” LA Clippers Forward-Center Blake Griffin will be featured as one of the four covers. Soccer player Hope Solo, who is the Goalkeeper for the US National Team, New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, and Olympic snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler are on the other three. See all the athletes here.

“This is an issue in the short time we’ve been doing it that’s become pretty anticipated,” ESPN The Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chad Millman said.

Last year’s Body Issue featured Kelly Slater strutting his nakedness. This time, four-time surfing world champ Stephanie Gilmore takes her turn posing in her birthday suit. Stephanie, who was inducted into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame last year in Huntington Beach, unveils her body, talks about being a pro surfer and staying in shape during the interview.

In addition to the bare body pictorials, the featured athletes also talk about insecurities, being self conscious, and how they feel in tune with their bodies while doing their sport.

According to Stephanie, on her inclusion in this year’s issue: “Why not? My thought was, Do it while the opportunity is there. Honestly, I was a little bit nervous, but I spend most of my time in a bikini anyway — although, posing naked goes a bit further than that. Of course, I was like, “Ahhh, I’ve got some insecurities,” but it was actually quite liberating.”

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