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“The Greatest Show on Surf!”

Hitting the Beach July 18-19

Executive director welcomes all to San Clemente tradition

“The Greatest Show on Surf!” is an event that takes hold of you. As a competitor, you vie for the title of champion. As a child, you may swim in a competition, make crafts, perform or play games in the youth pavilion, run in the ClifKid-sponsored Dolphin Dash or participate in a bodysurﬁng clinic to help you learn how to swim in the ocean.

What better place for artists selling ocean and beach art than in Parque Del Mar—above the beach and ocean events? You’ll also ﬁnd woody cars on the pier with surfers and athletes below. Rock out Saturday at the beach party with our free concert, featuring “The Cholulas,” sponsored by The Sheckler Foundation, as the sun sets on the horizon for the perfect ending to the day.

A fishing clinic and derby will take place on Saturday, where participants can learn safety tips from the experts and test their skills at this for-everyone event sponsored by Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching. Check out the sand sculpture competitions and grand finale—the Duck Race—on Sunday.

The San Clemente Ocean Festival has grown into a tradition for many within our community, the Inland Empire and as far as the East Coast, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand. Athletes, participants and volunteers travel from far and near to be a part of this athletic, family event.

We have participants who have grown up locally and are now active in the community as adults. Some will be on the beach during this weekend’s events serving as city lifeguards. I would like to commend the incredible team of lifeguards we have in San Clemente, watching over all of us as we enjoy these special events. Please join us in helping to support them by starting each Ocean Festival morning off with a hot pancake breakfast.

Athletic competitions remain the main focus of the event—many of which are for lifeguards, including the Rescue Relays, international and American Ironman competitions, thrills and spills of the ever-popular Dory Boat Races, and Surf Ski races to name a few.

Sunday’s competitions include the 5K Beach Run, biathlon and 1-mile ocean swim. In addition, the Groms Rule Kids Surf Contest— sponsored by Rip Curl and Farmers & Merchants Bank—and Dolphin Dash Kids Beach Run—sponsored by Clif Kid—return for our younger competitors, alongside the Sport of Kings SUP race sponsored by Hobie Surf Shops.

This year, we also welcome the Law Enforcement Torch Run, the ﬁnal leg for the journey of the Special

Olympics World Summer Games torch, on Sunday, July 19. The games are being held in Los Angeles beginning Saturday, July 25.

The volunteer Board of Directors and Associates work year-round toward the ﬁnal production and are joined by more than 200 volunteers to ensure the San Clemente Ocean Festival continues to meet the expectations of those who helped create it and still watch over it. Our race and surf directors and their committees work hard to provide events that are challenging and fun for all of our athletes.

To our sponsors and volunteers— thank you for all your hard work and support. To those who join us each year and newcomers alike, we welcome you to join us for the 39th annual San Clemente Ocean Festival on July 18 and July 19. If you come, avoid hassles by parking at San Clemente High School, located at 700 Avenida Pico, and take a free shuttle to the festivities.

We hope you will agree that it truly is “The Greatest Show On Surf!” For more information and complete event schedules, please visit our website at www.oceanfestival.org.

—Peggy Vance, Executive Director

San Clemente Ocean Festival

Clemente Pier

Lifeguards Save Residents from Hunger Annual breakfast serves as major fundraiser for lifeguard association

BY JIM SHILANDER

People looking for a traditional hot breakfast each day at the Ocean Festival get more than a meal. It’s not just a feast. It’s an opportunity for community members to meet the lifeguards who look after San Clemente’s swimmers and surfers, as well as a chance to support work done by the lifeguard associa tion.

Breakfast will be served each morning from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. near the Marine Safety building north of the Pier. It will feature pancakes, sausage and orange wedges, with a coffee or orange juice, for $5. As always, food will be prepared on-site by the lifeguards themselves—though they do get an assist from The Fisherman’s with mixing pancake batter and starting the sausages.

Dennis White, a seven-year lifeguard, is organizing this year’s breakfast. Like many on the beach, White’s interest in being a lifeguard was piqued early.

“I started out in junior lifeguards when I was 10,” White said. “My brother had become a lifeguard when he turned 16 and I decided that was exactly what I wanted to do. Whenever he’d come home he’d always have great stories. I thought it was awesome.”

The event raises money for the lifeguard associa-

New ‘Ariel’ Takes the Stage

San Clemente native taking on ‘mermaid’ role

BY JIM SHILANDER

Kelly Garrett says she knows what’s ahead for her.

The 14-year-old Orange County School of the Arts sophomore will be taking over the role of Ariel this year. As the famed sea princess from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Garrett will greet young visitors to the Ocean Festival. On Sunday she will lead the mermaid parade. It’s something the San Clemente native, and yearly festival attendee, has wanted to do for some time.

“The role of Ariel at Ocean Festival has been a role that I have wanted to take on for a while,” Garrett said in an email. “One of my dreams as I get older is to become a Disney Princess at the Disneyland Resort, and becoming Ariel at Ocean

Another program, “Fins for Friends,” provides ﬁns for those unable to afford them.

Festival is helping me move closer to that role.

“This opportunity came from last year’s Ocean Festival’s Ariel, my friend Brooke Frolich, a fellow OCSA student,” Garrett continued. “She no longer is able to play this role, so she thought of me and asked me if I would like to look into it. I am very thankful to her for thinking of me.”

Frolich helped Garrett prepare for the role by ﬁlling her in on things to expect.

“She told me that making the little kids happy will

“Lifeguards always have ﬁns, they help us move in the surf,” White said. “We’re really trying to get close to the community.”

White said he’s seen many of the same customers year in and year out, many who live in San Clemente, compete during the Ocean Festival. But he also gets to see hundreds of new faces all the time, coming from all over the coast and Southern California.

“We get a lot of thanks, especially from the people who live here, not just for the breakfast, but for what we do on a day-to-day basis as lifeguards,” White said.

make their day,” Garrett said. “To be completely honest, I’m curious and excited about the kind of questions that I will be asked.”

Her preparation has also included regular viewings of The Little Mermaid, during which she’s worked to perfect he reprisal of Ariel’s voice, personality and attitude. She’s also building her own version of the mermaid tail and costume.

This won’t be the ﬁrst time Garrett’s played the character, having done so in a San Clemente Children’s Theater production—the young artist’s ﬁrst lead role.

King Neptune will once again be played by Ed Howie, who has taken on the role since the late 2000s, and will now be working with his fourth Ariel. That experience, he said, has given him a good idea of what to expect.

“I think we bring a lot of joy to people,” Howie said. “They see us walking around, and we pass out the trophies for the sandcastle event.”

There’s also questions, he said, about just what he and Ariel are doing on land, to which he said he’s developed standard answers.

“I’ve improved, and the questions that come up, I just have to be quick on the draw in order to answer them,” he said.

San Clemente Ocean Festival

San Clemente Pier

Protectors of the Shield International lifeguard contingent uses Ocean Fest as final tune-up for Wieland Shield

BY STEVE BREAZEALE

The lifeguards of Victoria, Australia are known for their prowess in the water and ability to navigate some of the most famous—and dangerous— ocean breaks on earth. So too are the lifeguards of Los Angeles county, whose task involves monitoring the densely populated beaches and surf breaks that stretch up and down the coastline.

Every other year, these two historic lifeguard groups come together to show what outﬁt has the best watermen and waterwomen in a contest known as the Wieland Shield.

This year’s Wieland Shield, which is the name of the perpetual trophy awarded to the winner of the two-day lifesaving event dating back to 1967, will be contested as part of the International Surf Festival at Hermosa Pier on July 31. However, members of both the Victoria and Los Angeles

lifeguard teams will make the trek to San Clemente July 18-19 for a tune-up at Ocean Festival before the big event two weeks later.

The Australians currently hold the Wieland Shield trophy but will attempt to defend the title on foreign soil in 2015. The team from Victoria

was set to arrive on July 16, two days before competition, and will feature the youngest team they have ever ﬁelded in the event (the average age of competitors is 21), according to assistant coach Sonia Kinsey.

Many of the lifeguards in Victoria are volunteers, as opposed to their paid counterparts in Los Angeles County. A majority of the Australian competitors are still in college, according to Kinsey, which makes this installment of the Wieland Shield a two-fold experience.

“The event is as much about mixing and enjoying the culture of one another’s countries and lifestyles,” Kinsey said. “(The Los Angeles) system of competition and lifeguarding is so very different to Australia’s. We hope that the young members of our team will see just what is involved in a typical Californian lifeguard’s day.”

Kinsey said the Australian coaches have asked their nine athletes to compete in as many events at Ocean Fest as they can, in order to acclimate themselves to the variety of events and get used to the ﬁerce competition that will await them when they attempt to defend their Wieland Shield trophy.

Rough Ahead?Seas

Exhilarating challenges expected for Ocean Fest athletic events

BY JIM SHILANDER

With conditions expected to be challenging due to the potential for storms and big swells, Ocean Festival athletic events organizer Barrett Tester says there should be plenty of excitement, for competitors and spectators alike.

The second annual Sport of Kings stand-up paddleboard races, spon-

sored by Hobie Surf Shops, will set off at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Tester said the ocean conditions make for a more challenging competition for top SUP competitors.

“In terms of SUP events in this area, the Ocean Festival is one of the bigger ones,” Tester said.

The Sport of Kings race held at the Mongoose Cup in Dana Point is larger, he said, but the harbor conditions there change the types of competitors who come out. And with no Battle of the Paddle this year, Tester said he expects more top racers to come out for this event.

“We’re expecting to have increased competition, and a higher quality of race ﬁeld this year,” Tester said. “The Sport of Kings race is super success-

ful in Dana Point because of the ﬂat water, but the beach break in San Clemente does change the complexion for a lot of racers. It makes it more of an expert-only race. In ﬂat water, more people want to race because it’s not as challenging or dangerous. We don’t have the same numbers we do in Dana Point, but we do get great racing, and it’s usually a little heartier type. It’s usually racers with a little more skin in the game. They enjoy racing in the beach break.”

The potential for large swells Saturday and Sunday, he said, may make the racing “that much more spectacular.”

The swells may also make the annual lifeguard competition pretty spectacular as well. Lifeguards from

all over Southern California, the country, and this year, from Australia and New Zealand, are expected to compete. The Australians, he said, are an “all-star” team of lifesavers, while the Kiwis swam the English Channel before coming to the Ocean Festival. The events will include the traditional dory boat races as well as surf racing. Lifeguard competitions begin at 9 a.m.

Sunday’s beach events are more geared toward the recreational athlete, including the ﬁve kilometer beach run, one-mile ocean swim and the splash and dash relay event for young athletes. Events begin at 8 a.m. with the 5K run.

“We’d love to have people come out, support the cause and enjoy a great day at the beach,” Tester said.

From L to R: Carter Graves, Shane Scoggins, Joel Simmondson and Kira Kinsey represented Victoria, Australia in the last installment of the Wieland Shield competition. Photo: Courtesy Lifesaving Victoria

Stars of Tomorrow

Youth pavilion showcases young performers

BY JIM SHILANDER

Lisa Green, the organizer of the Ocean Festival’s Youth Pavilion, said performers who come on stage don’t just make their mark locally.

“The Youth Pavilion entertainment has morphed into to a youth-centric showcase of rising talent and who’s who of performing youth in Southern California,” Green said. “Starting in 2012 with Gavin Bailey, 2013 with Ugly Paint and 2014 with Sharp Turn Ahead, all who have played at The House of Blues, The Coach House and other top venues both locally and nationally, most have released EPs and have fan clubs.”

While there have been plenty of talented singers who’ve come to the stage, there’s also a number of other talented San Clemente and south Orange County children who get to perform as well.

Students from Guillobel Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will hold a demonstration both Saturday and Sunday for the seventh year in a row. Performers from Hula Connection will also be telling stories through dance for the 12th consecutive year on Saturday. Additionally, the South Coast Conservatory will have dancers perform at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

There will also be a new entrant into the performance lists this year, students from the Performer’s Academy, located in Laguna Woods. Students from the academy have regularly gone on to perform in ﬁlms, television, commercials and on stage as singers and dancers. A troupe of dancers and singers will perform Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Children and parents should also turn out for crafts, games and face painting, sponsored by the City of San Clemente. There will also be informational booths from the Ocean Institute and ClifKid, as well as a booth for parents to get youth ID cards for their children.

The annual mermaid parade may change slightly this year, Green said, due to the Special Olympic Torch relay event and ceremony, though just how so is still to be decided.

“We’ve got really little mermaids and mermen, and there’s probably going to be a lot of spectators for the torch,” she said. “We wouldn’t want anyone to get lost, so we’ll see what that looks like. If we can do what we normally do, we will. If not, we may have to go around, not quite to the end of the Pier.”

Homegrown Singer to Grace Youth Pavilion

Morgan Higgins to perform for Ocean Fest 2015

BY ERIC HEINZ

Before she hits Broadway, Morgan Higgins, 18 of San Clemente, will shine on the boardwalk.

The ﬂourishing young singer will perform at the Ocean Fest Youth Pavilion 1 p.m.–3 p.m. Saturday and 12:45 p.m.–1:25 p.m. Sunday.

In her career, she has already performed in front of tens of thousands of people, but this will be her ﬁrst time performing at Ocean Fest.

“I’ve been singing since I was about 2 or 3, and I kind of just started because my whole family is really music-oriented,” Morgan said. “We’ve always had music in our house. I grew up watching the The Sound of Music, and that’s kind of what started me singing.”

Morgan said she started playing the piano when she was 6 years old, and she is trying to get better at accompanying herself on the guitar. Most of the music she sings is popular rock and musical theater. She couldn’t say which songs she’ll perform, but she did say she will perform renditions by Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Sara Bareilles, Paramore and Adele.

“I sing a lot of songs of artists who have really big (range),” Morgan said.

Morgan said she enjoys music because it’s a way to communicate without a direct statement— it’s “a universal language,” as she puts it.

“I think when I’m singing I feel like I’m where I belong. I’m home and I’m completely calm. Having that place, you know, makes you super comfortable and gives you that creative outlet to do whatever you want.”

Higgins said she coordinates and tactically plans each performance. Currently, she performs with a band she said she’s known since childhood.

“I deﬁnitely want to sing and perform professionally,” she said.

Higgins won second place for her singing and was named 2015 best high school actress at the MACY awards a couple weeks ago. She will aim for the 2015 National High School Musical Theater Awards in New York City. This is just a small portion of her accolades. Morgan has performed at Los Angeles Lakers games, and she was also a participant on the ABC TV Network show “Rising Stars.”

To see Morgan perform before she takes the stage this weekend, visit her YouTube page at “iMorganHiggins.”

“I think when I’m singing I feel like I’m where I belong. I’m home and I’m completely calm. Having that place, you know, makes you super comfortable and gives you that creative outlet to do whatever you want.”

— Morgan Higgins

Morgan Higgins has had a marquee start to her singing career. The future New York University freshman from San Clemente said she is excited to perform at this year’s Ocean Fest. Photo: Eric Heinz

Ocean Festival EVENT MAP SAN CLEMENTE PIER

San Clemente Ocean Festival Schedule Of Events

SATURDAY, JULY 18

SECOND ANNUAL SPORT OF KINGS SUP RACE

Event Sponsor: Hobie Surf Shops / Rash Guard Sponsor: Coolies

7 a.m.

Registration/Check-in @ Surf

Registration booth, North of Pier

9:30 a.m.

Women Heat 1

9:40 a.m.

Women Heat 2

9:50 a.m.

Men Heat 1

10 a.m.

Men Heat 2

11:45 a.m.

Women Consolation

Noon

Men Consolation

2 p.m.

Kids (Boys & Girls 9 to 11)

2:10 p.m.

Kids (Boys & Girls 12 to 14)

2:20 p.m.

Kids (Boys & Girls 15 to 17)

3 p.m.

Women Final

3:15 p.m.

Men Final

CHILDREN’S FISHING CLINIC AND “ALL AGES” FISHING DERBY ON THE PIER

Sponsored by Dana Wharf Sportﬁshing—Saturday only

6:30 a.m.

Registration, clinic and derby

12:30 p.m.

Judging & Prizes Awarded

*PLEASE NOTE: Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult

CITY LIFEGUARD

PANCAKE BREAKFAST

7 a.m. – 11 a.m.

North of Pier, near Marine Safety Don’t miss the lifeguards on the griddle

10:45 a.m.

Event 3: Women Surf Ski Race (Lifeguard spec)

11 a.m.

Men Surf Ski Race (Lifeguard spec)

11:15 a.m.

Event 4: National Doryman’s Association Race #1

12:15 p.m.

Event 5: Women International Ironman (swim, ski, paddle)

12:30 p.m.

Men International Ironman (swim, ski, paddle)

1 p.m.

7TH ANNUAL “DOLPHIN DASH” KIDS’ BEACHRUN

(Ages 12 and under)

BEACH EVENTS

Main competition area - north side of San Clemente Pier - featuring:

8 a.m.

Event 10: 5K Beach Run/Walk

9 a.m.

Event 11: Biathlon (1K swim and 5K run)

10 a.m.

Event 12: 10K Ocean Paddle Race

(SUP, Paddleboard, Ski)

Noon

Event 14: One Mile Ocean Swim

2 p.m.

Event 15: Run – Swim – Run

2:30 p.m.

SC Marine Safety Water Rescue Demonstration

3 p.m.

Event 16: Splash & Dash Relay (one runner and one swimmer)

YOUTH PAVILION

All day events: crafts, face painting and carnival games. Plus Ocean Institute, Youth ID Cards sponsored by NY Life and Clif Kid booths.

8 a.m.

Ticket sales begin for crafts, games and face painting

8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Ocean Crafts, Games and Relays hosted by SC Parks & Recreation Dept.

9 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Mermaid Parade with King Neptune and Ariel

10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

South Coast Conservatory Performance

11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Guillobel Brazillian JiuJitsu Demonstration

12 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Morgan Higgins Performance

23RD ANNUAL

GREAT RUBBER DUCK RACE

4p.m. (approximate)

Sponsor ducks are $5 each –Great Prizes

*Schedule subject to change

Go Fish

Young fishermen get a chance to compete and learn

BY JIM SHILANDER

Paul Jessup has been doing his part to teach youngsters to fish at the Ocean Festival for the last five years at the annual fishing clinic and derby, sponsored by Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching. Jessup said that every year he sees a good mix of children who are experienced and those just learning the ropes.

The event is open to all ages 13 and younger, and all participants must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and must provide their own tackle and any other equipment.

“We get both, a lot of kids whose parents fish down on the Pier regularly, and they show up with their parents all ready to go,” Jessup said. “But we also get kids who come up off the train, walk to the end of the Pier and rent a rod and reel at the Pier Shack, and it’s the first time they’ve ever been fishing.”

The latter group is the primary target for the clinic portion of the event, which provides help “in any way, shape or form” Jessup said.

“You don’t have to be there at 7 a.m. for a (demonstration),” Jessup said. “We’ll teach you on an individual basis. (We teach) how to bait a hook, how to ﬁsh, how to put it in the water, everything. Whatever’s needed.”

On the competition side, there are prizes for the largest game ﬁsh and the largest shark or bat ray (the latter two must be weighed at the time of the catch). Prizes are awarded for the two heaviest game ﬁsh and the largest shark/ray.

In the past few years, Jessup said he’s seen some impressive catches.

“We had one boy, I want to say he was around 10 years old. He caught a big sheep’s head, probably about 10 pounds,” Jessup said. “We got it measured, and then he just dumped it overboard so that it could live, which was cool. That guy had probably been around the Pier for who knows how long. “

This year’s event will be held from 6:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday. While there have been events on both days in past years, the 2015 event will only be one day to allow for preparations to be made for the torch relay on Sunday.

Woodys Return to the San Clemente Pier

Car show brings out familiar faces, classic vehicles

BY JIM SHILANDER

The sight of wood-bodied cars is synonymous with surf and beach culture. And once again, the owners of a number of such cars will be bringing them out to Ocean Festival. The 23rd annual exhibition of woodies will be displayed both days of the festival from 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Jim Nielsen, a longtime Ocean Festival volunteer, who has helped put on the car exhibit over the last few years, said although he owns his own classic automobiles, he’s learned much about this classic, beach style in the last several years.

“All my cars have been sports cars and sedans; the amount of workmanship that goes into these cars is kind of new to me,” Nielsen said. “A lot of the people who own them tend to keep them for-

ever. Many have been coming here for 15 years straight and they look forward to it every year because it’s such a unique opportunity, to get to park on the Pier itself.”

Some of the vehicles might also be familiar from other events, such as the San Clemente Car Show and Doheny Wood.

“Most of them are pretty active in the woody club and actively show their cars,” Nielsen said. Nielsen’s learned a lot about the maintenance and restoration issues woodie owners have to deal with as opposed to owners of metalbodied vehicles like himself. Logistically, he said, the most difﬁcult aspect of the show is the start, getting the cars out onto the pier.

“You have to check the train schedule,” Nielsen said. “We always have to coach the guys, because it gets crowded down there, when we ﬁrst get on the Pier to let the car ahead get clear of the tracks, to be sure there’s enough room in case a train should come along. And then there’s a lot of people who just aren’t used to seeing cars driving on the Pier, so they might not be paying attention.”

This year also presents a challenge on Sunday, due to the Special Olympics Torch run that morning. Organizers are asking those attending the ceremony planned for the end of the Pier to be mindful of the cars before and after the ceremony.