Del Mar's First Surf Festival Saves Its Best Film for Sunday at 5

"Surfing is so important to this community," Susie Stevenson told the Union-Tribune this summer. "Even people who don't surf understand that." Stevenson is a third-generation Del Martian and events chair for the Del Mar Historical Society. She and society vice president James Gooding came up with the idea for the Surf Del Mar Festival about a year before it was announced. It runs Thursday, October 8, through Sunday, October 11. Every event is free, and it all happens within walking distance of Powerhouse Park.

The flyer leads with The Endless Summer on the Powerhouse Park lawn and Shaun Tomson signing books. The schedule tells a different story. The first evening ends with an awards ceremony for local legends, and the festival closes with Del Mar Surf History: Roots, a film built from interviews with more than 75 Del Mar surfers. The Historical Society organized four days to get the people who surfed this coast in the 1950s and 1960s into the same rooms while they can still tell the stories themselves.

A Reunion That Started as a Weekly Habit

Stevenson calls the event "a surfer's reunion," and she means it literally. Its center is a multi-generational gathering of people who rode Del Mar's waves in the 1950s and 1960s, and even earlier, alongside today's surfers. According to the Union-Tribune's June preview, local surfing legends will gather on the lawn near the Del Mar train station and swap stories the way they used to at weekly meetups.

Stevenson calls the stretch from La Jolla through Del Mar and up into Orange County "the Silicon Valley of the surfing world" in the early '50s and '60s. In her telling, that coastline was a creative hub for board shapers, photographers, artists, clothing makers, filmmakers, and writers. The festival programming covers each of those trades, with a poster artist, a film slate, a book fair, and a live band. San Diego State professor David Cline has been recording oral histories of local surfers, and the program includes oral histories and storytelling sessions.

"What we hope younger generations take away is an appreciation for these stories," Stevenson said. "They're part of who we are."

The Four Days at a Glance

Events take place at Del Mar Plaza, St. Peter's Parish Hall, L'Auberge Del Mar, Powerhouse Park, and the Del Mar train station. Here are the anchor events each day, from the official schedule:

Thursday and Friday Put the Legends First

The first event Thursday morning looks ahead. The Surfing and Sustainability Climate Symposium runs 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at St. Peter's Parish Hall, with talks from Kevin Whilden at 10:00, Patrick McDonough at 10:45, Ryan Simkovsky at 11:30, Yehuda Ben-Hamo at 1:00, and Adam Young at 1:45, plus a lunch break at 12:30. Del Mar TV personality Jeff Lehmann moderates the conversations on ocean conservation and coastal protection.

At 1:00 p.m., the Art Walk opens on Del Mar Plaza's Canyon View Garden Patio and runs until 6:30. The artists are Kevin Anderson, Wade Koniakowsky, Sarah O'Connor, Michael Leyva, Jesse Martin, Mac Hillenbrand, Ted Emrick, Andy Wright, Jim McConlogue, and Norm Daniels. The opening Surfers Meet and Greet starts on the Plaza at 3:00. Peter Sprague and Group play from 5:00 to 7:00, and Jim Kempton emcees the Legends and Champions Awards Ceremony from 5:30 to 6:00. The Historical Society's own listing gives a 2:00 p.m. start for Thursday, so check before you head over.

Friday is film day at St. Peter's Hall, programmed with the California Surf Museum. The lineup starts with Godpower at 11:30 a.m. and Birth of The Endless Summer at 11:45. After that come The Rising Dawn at 1:30, Wade In the Water at 3:00, and Shaped By The Sea at 4:00. Bustin' Down The Door screens at 5:30, followed by a Q&A with Shaun Tomson. A Surfer's Sunset Reunion is set for 5:00 p.m. on Del Mar Plaza's upper level at the same time, so you'll have to choose between the two.

Saturday Is the Big Public Day

Saturday is the day most of the town will see. The main Surfer's Reunion takes over Powerhouse Park from 11:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The Mar Dels play the park from 2:00 to 5:00. The Union-Tribune calls them a "beloved local favorite vintage rock band." A silent auction runs under the Welcome/Information Canopy in the park. Bidding closes at 5:30, and winners are announced at 6:00.

Once it's dark, somewhere between 6:30 and 7:00, The Endless Summer plays on the Powerhouse Park lawn. The Historical Society's summary says 7:00, so bring a blanket early either way. John Van Hamersveld, who created the original Endless Summer poster, designed this year's festival poster. Signed and numbered collector editions are for sale.

Up the hill, the Del Mar train station has woodies on display from noon to 3:00. Posters and T-shirts are sold there from noon to 7:00. Earlier coverage called this a Woody Wagon Parade, but the official schedule lists no route or rollout time, so plan on a display.

The Surfwriter's Book Fair runs Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in L'Auberge's Ruby Room and Patio. Chris Ahrens speaks at 10:00, Shaun Tomson at 11:00, T. Jefferson Parker at 1:00, and Kim Dwinell at 2:00, and each signs books right after their session.

Sunday at 5 Is the Payoff

Sunday starts with more of the book fair at L'Auberge, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Todd Glaser goes on at 10:00, Patrick Moser at 1:00, and Tom Keck at 2:00. Jeff Divine has the 11:00 slot, talking with Grant Ellis about his new book, Divine Surf, and signing copies afterward. From 11:00 to 3:00, the Student Art Walk at L'Auberge's Jim Watkins Outdoor Amphitheater shows surf-inspired work by local student artists.

Women on Waves runs from 1:00 to 5:00 at St. Peter's Parish Hall and Patio. Olga Freedman speaks at 1:00, Kim Dwinell at 1:30, Valerie and Victoria Du Prat at 2:30, and Meredith Rose at 3:30. The Du Prats are a mother-daughter pair. Victoria is a world junior champion surfer, and Valerie is a research scientist and surfboard shaper.

At 5:00, the festival comes back to where it started. Jim Lischer's Del Mar Surf History: Roots screens in the St. Peter's Church Parish Hall, with interviews from more than 75 Del Mar surfers. A short film honoring Don Hansen plays before it. Hansen founded Hansen Surfboards near Cardiff Reef in 1960, and the festival site says he died on March 28, 2026. He was gone before he could attend, which is exactly what a reunion like this is meant to get ahead of.

Lischer's name also shows up in the Union-Tribune's festival announcement. He's credited with a photo of a Del Mar Surf Club contest at the 15th Street reef in 1981. Surfers have been gathering at that reef for a long time. Shaper Rusty Preisendorfer told the paper in 2012 that 15th Street was his first stop on northbound surf trips in the 1970s and 1980s. A 2022 Del Mar Times story described the current 15th Street Surf Club as a lineup of about 30 members. It took that name because "Del Mar Surf Club" was already taken.

Before You Walk Over

• Cost: Nothing. The Historical Society says no tickets are required or sold for any event. The donation checkout on its site says "buy tickets," but all you receive is a donation receipt.
• Registration: The climate symposium, film program, Women on Waves, and Roots have limited seats, and the schedule asks people to register for them on the Historical Society's site.
• Book signings: Sign up through Camino Books' October events listings.
• Getting there: The official schedule doesn't include parking or shuttle details. It lists the train station only as the place to see the woodies.
• Full schedule: It's posted at surfdelmarfestival.com, and the Del Mar Historical Society has a page for the event too.

If you're at Powerhouse Park Saturday night or in a folding chair at St. Peter's for Roots on Sunday, come say hello. Travis Chatwin has been working this coast since 2003. He's always glad to swap 15th Street stories, or talk through anything else on your mind about Del Mar, over a call whenever you're ready.