Huntington Beach Surf City Splash

You may already have plans for New Year's Eve, but what about New Year's Day? Isn't it time to do something different, something refreshing and rejuvenating? How about joining with those of us who started a tradition a few years ago of jumping into the ocean on New Year’s Day at High Noon? Start your day with an all-you-can-eat Pancake Breakfast (9;30 - 11:30 in front of Zack's). The Lions Clubs of Huntington Beach ( www.hbhlions.org ) know pancakes! The $5 you donate will go directly to Lions Clubs charities, one of which is the HB International Surfing Museum ( www.surfingmuseum.org ). The Surfing Museum will be handing out Certificates of Lion-Heartedness (donations of $10 requested) for those who are brave enough to run into the waves at high noon and make a SPLASH into 2010. For those who want to commemorate the event, but are not crazy enough to jump into the ocean, Certificates of Sanity will be available for donations of $15!

The Surf City Splash is an annual ritual in Huntington Beach to welcome the New Year with a dip into the Pacific Ocean. It was towards the end of 2001 when Michael Parks handed Lee Love (at that time, she was the President of the Surf City Sunrise Rotary Club) a flyer encouraging everyone to participate in a “Polar Plunge”. After discovering that “Polar Plunges” are affiliated with the Special Olympics, Love came up with a new name for this event in order to broaden the outreach. “Besides”, says Love, a self-proclaimed mermaid who surfs Huntington Beach throughout the year sans wetsuit, “we can't call this a “polar” plunge because the water is never that cold!”

This year, the HB International Surfing Museum will be offering all sorts of cool surf and skate memorabilia, along with book signings by local authors and other signings by artists of the good life, here in HB. Also, Michael Pless of M & M Surfing School ( www.surfingschool.com ), will be surfing in his New Year’s Day outfit next to the HB Pier. You can catch him most mornings at the Seal Beach Pier in his Santa Suit. If you want to join with him on New Year's Eve, a group will be "surfing in" the New Year at midnight!

Rockin' Baja Coastal Cantina will have Surf City Splash entry forms at their new HB restaurant in Bella Terra from December 14, 2009 through January 1, 2010 as they support the event by donating 15% of each sale of the Surf & Turf Bucket (AKA "Bucket of Kindness") when a patron mentions “Surf City Splash” . Click on the following link: http://www.rockinbaja.com/images/stories/pdf/main.pdf to access the “Baja Buckets” menu.

There will be onsite registration the day of the event as well. For additional questions call Splash Coordinator Lee Love at 714-349-7706 or email LoveSurfCity@gmail.com .