May I just say I love my life? Now if I could fund the fun, or find a full-time job doing what I love it would be all good. LOL
In any case, wanted to share the wonderful 25th Anniversary Surfrider Foundation fundraiser myself, and two of my friends, Angelique Chacon and Erica Forrette, volunteered for this past Friday evening.
We had the best time! Here's a little photo essay of our time there:
Always happy to find new gardens in Los Angeles and never knew this one existed until we showed up to volunteer at the California Science Center's Wallis Annenberg Building.
This is what it looked like when we arrived. There was a "blue" carpet in honor of the occasion.
We all were given assignments and wore t-shirts with this insignia on the front. They were rather cool as t-shirts go, but I just wish for once there were female style t-shirts since I hate how I look in men's t-shirts. Almost makes me not want to volunteer any more I hate them so much! LOL
We had a great time manning registration though. Got a chance to meet all the artist's whose work was on display and a lot of the VIP's in attendance too. Everyone was so nice and friendly it really made the night fly by.
I was able to meet Shaun Tomson which was fun since I had just read his book. We also met Erin McAlister of Tiny Seven Jewelry who was showcasing her necklaces she makes with sand from beaches all over the world. Her brother died of cancer and in his honor she and her family set up a scholarship for the New Jersey Surfrider chapter. Isn't that nice?
I convinced her to walk the carpet since her story was so compelling and as a thank you she gave us all a necklace from her collection. This is Erin and Shaun Tomson's brother. (Isn't he funny?:) Thanks Erin!
Here's a link to all the artist's work up close and personal on surfline.com. I love fine art and grabbed these shots before everything got rockin' and rollin' to share with you too:
Later when I went back to capture the auction in action, I couldn't even get in the room it was so packed. That made me feel good because all of us had really encouraged people to take paddles to bid on the art. I like to think we helped create a bigger buzz as a result.:)
"In conjunction with the gala, the Surfrider Foundation held its third
installment of the popular "Art For The Oceans" auction series. The
live art auction featured twenty-five iconic waves interpreted by some
of today's most celebrated artists (twenty-five in all) including
Shepard Fairey, Thomas Campbell and Richard Pettibon and raised nearly $100,00 for the Foundation."
(From the official Surfrider Publicist, Alexis Henry. She and I took PR classes together at UCLA Extension. So happy Alexis is working for Surfrider since she is really good.)
After the show I was covering the art auction pick ups and met the funniest guy, Randy Hild of Quiksilver/Roxy. What a great sense of humor! Here's him goofing around with one of the pieces of art from the evening.
L-R Kerry O'Bryan, Randy Hild, Artist (whose name I thought was David Lloyd, but don't think that's right - if you know, tell me!) and guest
Kerry O'Bryan is with Shoshana Wayne Gallery and anyone in the art world knows this is a very prestigious gallery in Los Angeles located at Bergamot Station. I believe she's also a surfer.
Phil Roberts work was also showcased. You may remember him from the Hermosa Beach Surf Memorial Fundraiser event last year. I blogged about it here.)
Our registration table was stationed in front of the Fuel stage which gave us an bird's eye view of who they were interviewing. Here's some highlights. You will be able to view the entire Surfrider Gala on Fuel November 23, 2009.
Host, Mark Hoppus from Blink 182
This guy was one of the few surfers I recognized from a surfing movie screening, but his name escapes me. (Anyone know?)
There were many world class surfers in attendance. We all had a chuckle over the fact that for a surfer to get dressed up means wearing a flannel shirt and new sneaks. We counted seven guys wearing flannel before we stopped.
Very cute guys can wear whatever they want in my book!:)
Baywatch Actor David Chokachi was up for a Surfrider Foundation's Keepers of the Coast award for his work as a Surfrider spokesperson. Pearl Jam and Incubus were honored as well due to "their significant contributions towards helping Surfrider Foundation fulfill its mission of protecting our world's oceans, waves and beaches."
Here's one of the official pix from the actual event courtesy of Surfrider Foundation. From the official press release, “Our 25th anniversary gala brought together activists, musicians, artists, supporters, staff, and board
members,” says Surfrider Foundation’s CEO Jim Moriarty (he's wearing the light blue shirt and dark blazer and is standing next to Brandon Boyd of Incubus and David.) “It was great to see so
many different people coming together and ‘plugging in’ to our mission
and celebrating where we have been and where we are going.”
It was fun to see Ronald Reagan treated favorably.:)
Co-Host of E!'s The Daily 10, Sal Masakela, was on hand and very friendly. What a nice guy. I grabbed a shot with him later too. Forgot to introduce myself, but maybe he'll read my blog. Hi Sal!:)
Audrina Partridge of The Hills was there too which made some people wonder, but hey, she's supporting
the beach! Give the girl a break.
Here's a link to Wireimage where you can see all the celebs who showed up in support. Super Model Carolyn Murphy was also there. Apparently Surfrider does this type of celebrity gala only once every five years...Sorry you missed her guys.
Over 600 guests partied throughout the night. We were assigned the VIP section afterward and bumped into my bud, Shawn Sedlacek, and his date near the turtle in the bamboo enclave. Apparently VOX was doing all the production and lights for the event. Shout out to Shawn!:)
VOX DJ's, my client who used to be a subsidiary of VOX, will be celebrating their joint 25th year anniversary with VOX on November 14th at the Manhattan Beach Country Club. More details coming.
Erica bumped into her old boss, Mike Matey, from Quiksilver who is an absolute riot too. I think Quiksilver must be a great place to work if these guys are any indication.
The evening concluded with a rocking performance by Camp Freddy. Joining core members Dave Navarro, Billy Morrison, Matt Sorum, Donovan Leitch and Chris Chaney on stage were Sum-41’s Deryck Whibley, Evan Seinfeld from Biohazard, Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath, and 2004 Keeper of the Coast recipient Perry Farrell, who brought the house down with an amazing rendition of Led Zeppelin’s 'Whole Lotta Love.'"
And now from the official press release: "The money raised from Surfrider Foundation’s 25th Anniversary
Gala will assist the organization with several new campaigns and
initiatives that are set to launch in 2010."
The Surfrider Foundation's 25th Anniversary Gala was made possible by Brita Filter For Good and Barefoot Wine.
About Surfrider Foundation The
Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots environmental
organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s
oceans, waves and beaches. Now in its 25th year,
the Surfrider Foundation has grown from a small group of dedicated surfers in Malibu, California to a global movement made up of over 50,000 members and 90 chapters worldwide.
For more information visit www.surfrider.org.
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