Have a swell time
Get a dose of vitamin sea at Surf & Earth
By Sabine Wilson
For the TODAY
If you are looking for a fun way to celebrate Earth Day weekend or simply want to enjoy a nice spring day out in the community, head to the Lincoln City Cultural Center for ZuhG Life Surf Shop’s latest event, Surf & Earth. The event will take place on Sunday, April 24, and will feature several vendors, live music and food.
Don’t let the “surf” keep you away if you have yet to ride a wave. The event organizer and owner of ZuhG Life Surf Shop, Bryan Nichols, assures that there is plenty to enjoy even if you prefer to keep the ocean at a safe distance.
“You absolutely do not have to be a surfer to attend,” he said. “The inspiration was simply to throw an event full of amazing surf-related companies, to bring the community together for a fun event and to educate anyone out there who wants to start surfing. We will have something for everyone.”
Plus, who doesn't like live music, great raffle prizes and delicious food?
Nichols will be celebrating the ZuhG Life Surf Shop’s seventh year in business this summer, but you also might recognize his easily identifiable art around town, including the 26th street beach access ground mural, the 150-foot wall mural at The Pines Dine Food Trucks Village and smaller-scale art hanging in local Oregon Coast businesses. Or perhaps you are familiar with his band ZuhG’s rock-reggae music that he and partner Dylan Crawford regularly perform around town.
The event will feature brands like Long Lefts Clothing Co., Sally’s Skateboards, Good Fin Co., NME Surfboards, Chowder Surfboards and more. It will also showcase local artists and photographers including Thornmeadow Glassworks, Pacific City artist and surfer Tayler Blackman, Lincoln City painter Olivia Pablo and local Moana Hau.
In addition to these awesome vendors, food and beverages will be provided by Lincoln City cafe Salt.
Crawford will play live music during the event.
Amp Surf will be showcasing their company, which focuses on helping people with disabilities to experience surfing. For amazing visuals, local photographer and videographer Kelly Lagula will be displaying surf clips on the projector screen. Babes on Waves, a well-known local nonprofit, will also be there to support and educate people on women in the Pacific Northwest surf scene.
“It's going to be a great time with plenty of cool people to talk to,” Nichols said, “and a ton of amazing vendors and artists showcasing their crafts.”
Raffle tickets for $5 will be available for the chance to win a surfboard donated by Rob Russo of Russo Surfboards and hand-painted by Nichols. The raffle will also include the recently released book, “Wayward” by Chris Burkard, a renowned surfing and nature photographer and conservation advocate.
Taking place on Earth Day weekend, the event is also meant to bring awareness to how we can be stewards for the Earth.
“As surfers we are always on a mission to keep our beaches and oceans clean,” Nichols said. “We've hosted many beach cleanups and support all eco-friendly decisions that make this world and our oceans a better place. We’re excited to have The Surfrider Foundation at this event, too, since they do such a great job educating the people on how we can protect and preserve the world’s oceans and keep our beaches and oceans clean.”
Join the community at Surf & Earth by checking out some incredible artists, surf-related companies, local artisans and by enjoying some awesome food and drinks. Spring has sprung and it’s about time for some fun.
“It's really nice and exciting to be able to gather with one another again,” Nichols said. “It's been a long time coming. We have a beautiful community of people here and I'm just happy to be throwing this event for everyone to gather and check out some amazing companies.”
The event begins at 1 pm at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, located at 540 NE Hwy 101. To find out more about ZuhG Life Surf Shop, go to zuhglifesurfshop.com. And be sure to watch out for the surf shop’s Summer Concert Series every Saturday on the Surf Shop Deck every Saturday in July and August from 1 to 3 pm.