Anna Maria Island again will be represented at the NKF Rich Salick Pro Am Surf Festival.
The event was pushed to Oct. 7-9 after a Labor Day weekend storm threatened the East Coast.
Now the 38th annual NKF Rich Salick Surf Fest is returning to its roots and will be held Columbus Day weekend at the Westgate Cocoa Beach Pier.
The Ron Jons Mens Pro, the main surfing event, brings surfers from as far as Costa Rica to compete for prize money and trophies created by renowned artists. The Womens Pro and other competitions promise epic surfing viewing for the weekend. Pro and amateur surfers — as young as 4 years old — will compete Oct. 7 for a spot in the finals.
The festival’s Taste of Brevard and Silent Auction will take place Oct. 8. The “Tropical Party of the Year” will include live music, along with patient and surfing legend testimonials.
Restaurants from the Space Coast will donate signature dishes in hopes of taking home the “Best Taste Title.”
Auction items include hand-painted surfboards, art from the Wyland Galleries, beach cruisers, surf packs and a vacation package for Anna Maria Island.
The Islander newspaper again is sending the vacation package, which includes accommodations arranged by Matt Lyndon of Anna Maria Life vacations, dinner at the Waterfront Restaurant with thanks to owner Jason Suzor, a six-person private dolphin boat tour from Ben Webb of AMI Dolphin Tours and a half-day inshore fishing trip guided by legendary snook-hunter Capt. Scott Moore.
Proceeds will go to the National Kidney Foundation of Florida to increase awareness and prevention of kidney and urinary tract diseases, improve the health of individuals and families affected by the diseases and increase the availability of organs for transplantation.
Tickets to the Taste of Brevard can be purchased online at nkfsurf.org or at the door.
The festival honors the cofounder, the late Richard Salick, who died July 2, 2012.
Salick, a lifelong sufferer of kidney disease, was an advocate for kidney patients. He was a three-time kidney recipient who, with his twin Phil, grew up surfing the waves on Anna Maria Island and became champion surfers through much of the late 1960s and ’70s.
For more information, call the foundation at 321-784-5661.
— Bonner Joy
