The San Francisco edition of the Board Art Benefit saw a large turnout on Saturday, June 9th at the Driftwood Salon. The gallery showcase gave the over 300 people in attendance another opportunity to view boards remaining from the first installment, and a first view of the beautiful new boards added to the surfboard artwork quiver.

Twenty one new boards were added to original artwork boards from the first showcase in Solana Beach.  Many of these new boards were created by local San Francisco-area shapers and artists, adding a Bay Area flare to the original mostly Southern Californian lineup.

In addition to an evening of artwork, guests at the San Francisco showing enjoyed several refreshingly tasty choices of complimentary Kona beers, and were able to purchase an assortment of delicious Filipino choices from the HapaSF food truck.  Humboldt County band Likwefi provided a funky fusion of musical stylings that created a perfect showcase atmosphere.

Raffle prizes were drawn and several guests were delighted to win pairs of Spy Optics Sunglasses and Skullcandy headphones.  The grand prizewinner, however, was able to take home an original artwork surfboard by artist Peter Pierce.  Pierce’s “Grom Board” was appropriately won by Harry Williams.  Williams’ son, Kai, was “really stoked” to receive the Firewire board from his dad the following morning.
SurfAid is incredibly grateful for the contribution of shapers and artists for Board Art Benefit San Francisco.

SHAPERS OF THE EVENING

Robert Weiner, Christian Beamish, Yoheis Shiraishi, Dan Taylor, John Bircham, Mike Schoen, Paul Jensen, Merrick Rustia, Erik Baldwin, Tim Stamps, Rusty Preisendorfer, Mike Hyson, Jerry Madrid, Brian Heritage, Bill Johnson, Aleks Petrovitch, Tony Iannorone, Jeff “Doc” Lausch, Jed Noll, Terry Senate, and Travis Reynolds.

ARTISTS OF THE EVENING

Erik Abel, Eric Bailey, Christian Beamish, Matt Beard, Ben Brough, Ron Croci, John Culqui, Mike Cummins, Ea Eckerman, Greg “Pnut” Galinsky, Jose Emroca-Flores, Shawn Griggs, Robb Havassy, Wade Koniakowsky, Alex Krastev, Matt Long, Lydia Martin, Aleks Petrovitch, Kevin Pincus, Spencer Reynolds, Rick Rietveld, Heather Ritts, Patrick Trefz, and Sarah Utter.

Finally, a huge thank you goes out to Matt Beard, curator of Board Art Benefit, website “guy”, and Social Media Guru; Saya Nodera, tireless SurfAid volunteer, smiling face, and event coordinator; Camille and Anthony of Driftwood Salon, for allowing us to use their beautiful space and welcoming us with open arms; Aleks Petrovitch for being our eyes and ears in San Francisco; Likwefi, for their groovy beats and providing the ambiance; Matt Long, for working side by side with SurfAid to setup and breakdown the event; Daniel Chimowintz, event photographer; Kona Brewing for steadfast support and delicious brews; and HapaSF for their delectable food and support.

// Check out more photos from the event at the Board Art Benefit website http://boardartbenefit.com/photos-2/

SurfAid International
www.surfaid.org
Wednesday, June 20, 2012

About SurfAid International
SurfAid International is a non-profit humanitarian organisation whose aim is to improve the health, wellbeing and self-reliance of people living in isolated communities connected to us through surfing. Find more at www.surfaid.org.