10th Annual Switchfoot Bro-Am

On July 11, 2014, the Switchfoot Bro-Am surf contest and concert will celebrate its 10th anniversary. The annual event, which was created to give back to the San Diego community, has raised over $900,000 for local children's charities since its inception. The Switchfoot Bro-Am Foundation, an organization recently created by the band, works year-round to support the at-risk, homeless and street kids of San Diego.

On Friday, July 11, the festivities will kick off with an auction night. Guests will dine on signature dishes from the city's leading restaurants and enjoy live music from Switchfoot before the silent and live auctions begin.

On Saturday, the surf contest, presented by Hurley, will rule the day with free live music, nerf surf jousting expositions between heats and the 3rd annual Rob Machado Bro Junior for those 16 and under. Rather than charge an entry fee to the junior surfers, the Bro-Am asks them to bring "gently-used" surf clothes to the beach on competition day as their entry fee. The corporate surf teams enter via sponsorship donations to the Switchfoot Bro-Am Foundation. In past years, Arnette, Billabong, Chelsea's Light Foundation, Dragon, Encinitas Firefighters Association, Flat Rock Eats & Drinks, Hurley, Macbeth, Shaper Studios, Surf Ride and Univ, as well as surf legends Rob Machado, Timmy Curran, Tom Curren and members of Switchfoot have all been on deck.

The Bro-Am isn't just about helping kids and having fun. It's also about leaving the planet a little better off than before. Thanks to Bro-Am's relationship with Hurley H2O, the Bro-Am beach experience is a "single-use plastic water bottle-free event." In other words, attendees are encouraged to bring a re-usable water bottle to fill up at the free H2O station. Hurley H2O also offers stainless steel bottles with the funds raised from their sales supporting nonprofit partners like The Ecology Center. A partnership with San Diego-based Alternative Power Productions will offer cutting-edge solar-powered sound and staging. Alternative Power Productions utilizes the renewable energy sources of the sun to deliver 100% pollution-free concerts. By using solar power rather than a diesel generator or grid power, the Bro-Am will avoid emitting approximately 1,000 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere (the equivalent of not driving your car approximately 1,100 miles or the annual sequestration of 66 trees).

To monitor it all, The Rob Machado Foundation, which is dedicated to teaching youth about their impact on the environment, will once again have a team of surfers and environmentalists managing waste at Bro-Am. The Green Team of high school and college students will ensure that as much waste as possible is diverted from the landfill. The team will also educate those in attendance about sorting trash and recyclables while keeps a running tab on the total landfill diversion rate.

For those not able to make it to San Diego, the surf contest/concert at Moonlight Beach will stream live online, sharing the fun with fans around the world.

Tags

Switchfoot