Neighbor News
The Tommy Bahama Paddleboard Race & Ocean Festival at the Santa Monica Pier returns June 6!
Santa Monica Paddleboard, Ocean Swim, Santa Monica Pier, Music, Youth Events, Kids, Volleyball
The Tommy Bahama Paddleboard Race & Ocean Festival at the Santa Monica Pier returns June 6!
Expect a full day of beach fun– with competitions, entertainment and activities for all ages. Come cheer on the hundreds of waterman and women who are competing or just enjoy a drink in the Tommy Bahama rum lounge or a beer in the Sierra Nevada beer garden. It’s the best day of the year at the Santa Monica Pier.
Since it was born as a simple paddleboard race six years ago the sport and the event have both exploded into a celebration of the California beach lifestyle. New this year is a much larger $15,000 cash prize purse making the pier paddle one of the top events on the paddling circuit. Expect even more top competitors to participate this year because of that.
Find out what's happening in Santa Monicawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Also added this year is a beach volleyball clinic and American Athletic Union sanctioned youth volleyball tournament. Beach history buffs can explore our “Museum for a Day” featuring a large one of-a-kind exhibition of historic surfboards, paddleboards, lifeguard equipment and skateboards. Meet surfing legends and authors of surf history books.
Musical groups and DJs including the OOKS of Hazard and the Fudogs with Jeremy Miller of the Untouchables, Todd Alter, and Brightside will provide the soundtrack while spectators enjoy the races, beer garden and rum lounge, museum and a large expo of paddle boards, accessories and souvenirs.
Find out what's happening in Santa Monicawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Santa Monica’s own Heal the Bay will receive a portion of net proceeds from the event. Now one of the fastest growing sports in the county, paddleboarding’s roots date back to the historic paddle board races that took place right here at the Santa Monica Pier from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Presented by Tommy Bahama, other major partners include Suplove, Sierra Nevada, Boxed Water, Clif Bar, Loews Hotel, ROKA, The Albright, ZJ Boarding House, Santa Monica Daily Press, World Paddle Association, KII SFM, ALT 987 FM, Studio16 CityTV, Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, ProSUP Shop, COTZ Sunscreen and National Doryman’s Association.
