By Shawn Raymundo
With the San Clemente Ocean Festival set to make its long-awaited return to the city’s sands and surf this July, event organizers are looking to local businesses, nonprofits and community members to get involved as potential sponsors and volunteers.
Executive Director Peggy Vance tells San Clemente Times—an event sponsor—that there are usually about 300 volunteers who help with the various activities and booths throughout the Ocean Fest weekend.
Currently, she added, there are several openings in various areas, including food, registration and T-shirt booths, that need to be filled for this year’s “Greatest Show on Surf,” which is scheduled for July 16-17.
Those who volunteer to work a four-hour shift will get a free Ocean Fest T-shirt for helping out, Vance said.
The upcoming festival is also looking for support from additional groups and businesses that are interested in joining the event’s list of sponsors, which includes Fisherman’s Restaurant & Bar, Outlets at San Clemente, Rip Curl, and Youtheory, among others.
Sponsorships, she said, start at $250. Sponsorships for events on the beach start at $2,500.
The yearly competition, which was forced into a pandemic-induced hiatus for the past couple of years, features a myriad of ocean-based sports, across various age groups, and draws hundreds of spectators to San Clemente’s beach every summer.
Athletes looking to participate in any of this year’s competitions may register now. Such events include run-swim-run and paddleboard sprints for junior lifeguards, paddleboard sprints and dory boat races for lifeguards, a surf contest for groms, a 5K beach run/walk, and a tandem bodyboard contest that San Clemente-based TANDM Surf is sponsoring.
More information on how to get involved with Ocean Fest through volunteering and sponsorships can be found at oceanfestival.org. There, prospective competitors can also register for the contests.
Shawn Raymundo
Shawn Raymundo is the managing editor for Picket Fence Media. He graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies. Before joining Picket Fence Media, he worked as the government accountability reporter for the Pacific Daily News in the U.S. territory of Guam. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnzyTsunami and follow San Clemente Times @SCTimesNews.
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