The Vissla Cosmic Creek Surf Festival at Salt Creek celebrates 25 years of groovy surfboards and good times
The year is 1997. Steve Jobs has just returned to Apple. Hong Kong’s back under the Chinese thumb. Good Will Hunting is smashing the box office. The Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” is charting. And Vinnie De La Pena owns the point at Salt Creek. These are heady days.
In a less complicated corner of the world, a young Eric Diamond shows up for a meeting at Hoffman Fabrics, presumably to review swatches for some upcoming design work. Inevitably, he gets distracted by Flippy Hoffman’s extensive surfboard collection.
A light goes off. The first iteration of the Cosmic Creek Challenge is born.
“That first year, I borrowed boards from Flippy, some from Gary Wright’s collection, as well as a few others from friends,” Diamond says today. “Over the last 25 years, we’ve witnessed some pretty amazing moments and had a lot of fun.”
Fun has always been at the heart of the “Cosmic.” Born into a time where surfboards had been whittled down to thin, rocker-ed out “glass slippers,” Diamond had the idea to unearth old boards from the ’70s and ’80s, divide them up into a single-fin and twin-fin categories, and invite an eclectic pool of talent down to Salt Creek to “get weird.”
This weekend, the tradition continues with the Vissla Cosmic Creek Surf Festival. Taking place at Salt Creek in Dana Point on Saturday, June 3, and Sunday, June 4, the event is part surf contest, part free concert and part raging beach party. Really, nothing screams the start of summer like the Vissla Cosmic Creek Surf Festival.
As the surf contest portion goes, the event will feature five divisions: Locals, Creators & Innovators, Pros, Women’s, and a Body Surf Expression Session presented by DaFin.
In the Pros and Locals divisions, entrants will draw cards prior to their heat to determine the order in which they will select the board they will ride. Unlike just about any other surf contest, at the Cosmic, Vissla will supply original ’70s and ’80s single- and twin-fin options for competitors to ride.
Meanwhile, the Creators & Innovators division features shapers and surf stars alike riding self-shaped boards inspired by ’70s- and ’80s-era equipment.
A passionate surfboard collector and ardent supporter of surfboard shaping, Vissla founder Paul Naude and his team have done an incredible job over the years ensuring that the history and heritage of these surfboard designs continue to be passed down to the next generation.
On Saturday afternoon, be sure to snag a spot on the grassy hill above Salt Creek for some seriously epic live music. Kicking things off at 5 p.m. will be Repeater, followed by The Alive.
The headlining act of the evening is Frankie & The Witch Fingers, who are scheduled for 6:45. As someone who’s currently listening to them on Spotify while writing this, you’re not going to want to miss this show. It’s a top-shelf lineup.
Not only bringing the good times, the Vissla Cosmic Creek Surf Festival is planting its flag in the ground when it comes to the environment.
The event has been designated plastic-free, and everyone’s encouraged to bring their reusable water bottles. There will be refilling stations at the beach, and breakfast and lunch are being provided by Young’s Beach Shack. Other local vendors will also be on hand.
“From Kelly Slater, to Jackson Browne, Rob Machado, Thomas Campbell, Tom Curren, Buttons, Ulu Boy and so many more, the Cosmic, as always, attracted really good surfers that are into these older designs,” Diamond says. “Donavon (Frankenreiter) played a big part in those early years.”
“I’m so excited that we get to celebrate 25 years of the Cosmic and that Vissla fully backs the vision and embraces how important this event is to our local community, as well as how unique it really is in the surf world,” he adds.
See you at Salt Creek this weekend!
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