Once again Santa Cruz has thrust itself into the limelight. The brainchild of Homer Henard developed out of his sheer interest to make surfing relevant again, bridge the gap between surfers and skaters all while promoting world peace. The white-hot YouTube video below (produced and directed by Chris Killen for Ruse Entertainment at press time was recorded at 1.5 million views) has taken the internet by storm, inspiring thousands of kids across the planet to Tarp Surf.

Over the last year the momentum for locally grown skateboard charity Grind Out Hunger has been accelerated considerably. What has started out as an opportunity to get local school children involved in raising awareness of childhood hunger has began to take on a life of its own. Grind Out Hunger was founded in 2003 with the guidance of Second Harvest Food Bank and the goal was to simply improve the Holiday Food Drive and its relationship with the kids at their schools. Grind Out Hunger exists on a platform of live speaking engagements in the schools spreading altruism, whichever elementary, middle or high school that raises the most pounds of food per student will win gift certificates to Santa Cruz Skate Shop (Skateworks is now on board for the 2010-2011 season!!) and a Grind Out Hunger skateboard trophy designed by legendary artist Jimbo Phillips.

International Surfing Day ushers in a weekend of events and awareness
Etched on the walls of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a quote by natural science writer Loren Eiseley that reads, “If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.”

Whether cascading fluidly on longboards or turning jaggedly on shortboards through incoming sets at any of the surf spots around the county, Santa Cruz’s brigade of surfers is infamous for its nearly holy communion with water. Really, where else in the world can you find so many (so many!) groms and grandmas waxing philosophical while waxing up their boards? So, it makes sense that in a our nearly mythological coastal town whose residents understand well Eiseley’s words of wisdom, you wouldn’t expect anything less than a full weekend of hoopla surrounding the 6th Annual International Surfing Day (ISD).

Joshua Pomer had a dream, to one day document his best friends rise to the top as innovators of surf while placing Santa Cruz firmly on the map. What Josh didn’t realize at the time was his desire to tell the story of their tragedies and triumphs while holding on for the ride of their lives. This would become The Westsiders a story about four friends coming from very different backgrounds with one common thread of brotherhood through surfing and dark influences.

Before I can review the film (we attended the Santa Cruz Film Festival premier), one must understand the creative mind of Joshua Pomer. Shooting Super 8 movies from the age of six, skits and random objects in motion caught the eye of this young cinematographer. I sat down with Josh and we chatted about life, friends and family along with desire to create and share. These words are from that conversation.

At first glance Shawn Dollar might not strike you as someone that hurls themselves down a 55’ foot wave. Let alone in the middle of the 2009-2010 Mavericks contest that held some of the biggest waves ever for a paddle in competition. Dollar represents Santa Cruz in solid form, born on the Westside he moved to the Eastside when he was 8 and started junior guards where he fell in love with surfing. The first days of surfing for Shawn were weekends with his dad being pushed into waves at Cowell Beach and surfing different reefs and beach breaks as he progressed. Fast forward to Shawn attending Cal Poly and searching out the highly coveted Central California big wave spots alone defining his big wave surfing.

The 10^th annual Logjam! presented by the Big Stick Surfing Association took a stylish cross-step back in time last weekend, April 24-25, at the Dirt Farm and Pleasure Point on Santa Cruz’s Eastside. True to the  mantra of “old boards, no cords,” some 100 participants competed for two days on yellowed, 20-pound vintage longboards that were crafted prior to 1970.

The event was not so much a competition as a gathering of tribes, as surf clubs from up and down the coast met in appreciation of the roots, history and culture of California surfing. Mother Nature embraced the revival with summery offshore conditions that saw some intrepid surfers pull on their board shorts, while others kept their wetsuits zipped up snugly against spring-like water temperatures.