The California Surf Museum Spreads Aloha to Oceanside
As you walk into Oceanside’s California Surf Museum off Pier View Way, you are greeted with a beautiful spectacle of ocean-blue tile spanning from floor to ceiling with a glowing, canary yellow board hovering in the midst of it all.
The tile display was donated by local business Oceanside Glasstile, whose owner shares a love of surfing.
And that is exactly what fuels the California Surf Museum: friendship, love and contributions.
Saturday night’s Fourth Annual Gala fundraiser was a celebration of the first 25 years of the museum and a party to officially open its newest exhibits: Traditional Thinking: A Short Story 1966-1972 and Clay to Urethane: Skateboard Transitions 1965-1975.
The night kicked off with mingling over beverages (beer and wine by Kona Brewing Company and Longboard Vineyards) and appetizers (333 Pacific, Harney Sushi and Pedro’s Tacos). Petite Madeline and Sprinkles Cupcakes served up scrumptious delicacies for dessert, and Nagata Brothers Farms provided delicious sugar-dipped strawberries.
A silent auction was featured in the Hawaiian decorated back area, aptly dubbed the “Secret Spot,” while musician John Hull played surf tunes.
Boyd Scofield took a cue from his past broadcasting experience and served as announcer for the night. He’s been in radio for years, has covered Triple Crown events, and still does surf reports for several TV and radio stations.
He and his wife, Kathleen, moved to Oceanside a year ago and have become actively involved with the museum.
“We wanted to help out with something that was close to our hearts, so we started volunteering," said Katherine.
The night’s featured exhibits offered insight into the pivotal era of change throughout skateboarding and surfing in the mid ’60s and ’70s.
In the skateboard sector, Dogtown and Z-Boys played on a small screen, while partygoers browsed walls of old boards, trucks and vintage skate photos showing events such as the skateboard championships held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in 1975.
A sign featuring actual clay and urethane wheels boasted the difference between the two: “It was like surfing early morning glass on a warm summer day.”
The surfing portion featured bright, hippyish posters, boards of all sizes and shapes, and its own fair share of vintage photographs.
A recent addition to the wall is the actual surfboard Bethany Hamilton was riding in 2003 when she was attacked in Kauai by a 15-foot tiger shark.
Once people had enough time to peruse the various relics, the live auction started, complete with 20-25 online bidders.
Fernando Aguerre, who is on the museum's board of advisers and is a co-founder of Reef, made a quick motivating speech to get the audience in spend mode.
“This is a once-a-year event to raise attention and to raise moneyundefinedmoney from our own pockets,” he said in a thick Argentinian accent.
Auctioneer Terry Bagley kept the crowd entertained with his quick talking.
Joe Gallagher, an active member of the organization and past treasurer, bid and won a steal of a package for $1,100: five nights at Hotel Casa Tucan in Costa Rica and a week of surf lessons at the prestigious Safari Surf School. Already a surfer, of course, he doesn’t need the lessons, but he’s never surfed Costa Rica, so he said he is excited about the trip.
Chuck and Patty Goble, from San Pedro, enjoyed watching the action. The surfing couple, who just celebrated their 25th anniversary, have supported the museum for years.
“There are so many surfers here that were my heroes growing up … and now they are my friends,” said 63-year-old Chuck. (Surf legends Woody Ekstrom, Randy Rarick, Bobby Thomas and PT Townend are all honorary chairmen.)
“There is so much surfing history here, so much aloha,” Patty said.
The museum is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily, and Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $3, and Tuesdays are a free day.
Although, I hear aloha is free every day.
The Fourth Annual Gala at the California Surf Museum draws some heavy hitters in the surf and skate world.
