Surfing U.S. Open In a Party Mood!

Nine-Day Festival on the Sand

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

The 2023 Wallex U.S. Open of Surfing (July 29 - August 6) in Huntington Beach is in a party mood with fans in the grandstands, on the beach and the pier watching more than 150 surfers from around the world competing. 

 

There are sponsor booths spread across the sand and a mega-size retail store selling Open T-shirts and other surf merchandise,  

 

a giant entertainment stage showcasing performers, 

 and a lineup of food trucks serving tasty treats.

 

SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel could feel the energy in the air as we crossed PCH and headed to the festival area South of the pier.

 

Everywhere we looked something was going on...

 

from the surfing action to the bustling booths, refreshment, and game areas. 

 

With some 40 sponsors on board, look for lots of demos, games, and giveaways, athlete autograph signings, and more.

 

Beat the heat at the Pacifico beer, Red Bull, and Sambazon Acai pavilions.   

 

Or, for an adrenaline rush, check out the Nitro Circus "Full Throttle FMX" pro freestyle motocross displays on the beach. Known for performing the "biggest, baddest, craziest stunts," this is the first time the daredevil aerial cyclists have appeared at the Open and the crowds are loving it.

 

The largest action-sports festival in the world, the Open is expected to generate an estimated $100 million for HB, and the locals want everyone to enjoy themselves.

 

Shops, hotels, and restaurants all have the welcome mat out and additional activities and offerings planned, including surf movie premieres, and induction ceremonies at the Surfing Walk of Fame and Surfers' Hall of Fame.

 It's definitely a pedal to the metal, wave fest week. 

 

SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.

Salute to Surf City USA!

 

Huntington Beach Ready for US Open of Surfing

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Huntington Beach – Surf City USA of legend and song – is more than an iconic Southern California surfing destination. It's a lifestyle and state of mind. A place where surfing champions compete, and Guinness World Records are made. 

With its eye-catching 1,850-foot pier, built in 1904 and surfed in 1914 by pioneer surfer George Freeth, HB is used to making surfing headlines. 

 

Renowned adventure author Jack London wrote that Freeth's "heels are winged and in them is the swiftness of the sea."   

Whether it's for its annual U.S. Open of Surfing or the unveiling of the new, electric VW ID. Buzz bus – perfect for surfing safaris – Huntington Beach has always been the place to be.

 

Just listen to the lyrics of Jan and Dean's 1963 song Surf City – "We're goin' to Surf City, gonna have some fun." – and you're ready to hit the beach.

 Huntington Beach is also the home to three Guinness World Records.

 

For the World's Largest Surfboard (42-feet long), made in 2015 and now on display at the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum.

For the Most People Riding a Surfboard (62) on the Epic Big Board Ride in 2015.

 

For the Most S'mores Made at One Time (423 people making s'mores simultaneously) at HB State Beach in 2016.

And with the 2023 U.S. Open of Surfing (July 29 - August 6) front and center on the beach, get ready for more epic action!

With new inductees into the Surfing Walk of Fame on August 3rd…

and the Surfers’ Hall of Fame welcoming its new inductees: surf reporter Laylan Connelly, Olympic Gold Medalist Italo Ferreira, and International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre on August 4th.

At Surf City you’re gonna have some fun!

 

SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.

Return to Java Point

 

Huntington Beach Cafe is Surfers' Fav Spot

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

One of SurfWriter Girls earliest blog posts is still a favorite story of ours. And the place we wrote about - Java Point Cafe - is a fav spot with Huntington Beach surfers. Especially the ones on dawn patrol, who head out  to catch the early waves. That's because the cafe opens at 6:00 a.m., or even earlier.

 

Java Point isn't just any cafe. It's inside Huntington Surf & Sport (HSS), the popular surf shop on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street, just steps from the iconic HB Pier.

You wouldn't expect to find a full-service cafe in a surf shop, but there it is, a beckoning port of tranquility. HSS says that, by opening early and providing food, it shows surfers "We're here for you." 

Picking out surf gear, new sunglasses or sandals, while munching on a baked treat and getting a jolt of caffeine, is the ultimate in convenience.

 

When you're here, as SurfWriter Girls learned on our initial visit to Java Point in 2012, count on getting a big smile, expert equipment advice or updates on how the waves are breaking from Mark Reeder, who manages the HSS Surf Team. When we talked to Mark that first day he was eager to help out with board and wetsuit selections...or anything else we needed. 

 

On our return visit, Mark was still here helping people. Soon we were all catching up on what we had been doing, as if only a few days had gone by. Mark told us that he had quadruple by-pass surgery a few months ago and had just recently come back to work. He was glad to be back. As he had told us before, "It's a real family here. A pit stop for everyone"

 

Mark can't wait to get back to surfing. His doctors said that will be in August. For now he's in the next best place, at HSS where he's in the middle of the surfing action. "I see all the kids coming up competing," he said. "This is where everyone stops. From the owners of surfing brands to boardshapers to the groms starting out." 

 

HSS is the kind of place where people drop by when they're at the beach, not just to buy something, but to talk and hang out. In addition to all the surf merchandise and the cafe, it's the location of the Surfers' Hall of Fame that showcases hand and feet imprints of surf legends in cement.

 

Aaron Pai, the owner of HSS, modeled the cement walkways in and around the store after Hollywood Boulevard's famed Chinese Theatre forecourt of celebrity prints.    

 

HSS truly is at the heart of Huntington Beach and SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti are glad to know that there's always a warm greeting and a cup of Joe waiting for us at Java Point.  

     

 

 SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.