It was a balmy Wednesday night; the waves crashed against the windows of Duke’s Malibu restaurant. The parking lot was jammed, packed with cars and people. Laughter filled the air.
This was the grand finale of Duke’s “Big Wednesday,” the Surfrider Foundation’s weekly summer fundraiser, sponsored by Surfer Magazine, taking place at the Barefoot Bar at Duke’s. This was the sixth year of the fundraiser, where every week people buy raffle tickets, at a dollar apiece, in hopes of winning one of the many prizes Big Wednesday has to offer.
The event raised $6,000; the most the foundation has ever raised on a Big Wednesday.
“This is the best year by far, a record breaker,” said Alan Reed, executive committee member for Surfrider Foundation.
Each week a different sponsor hosted the event such as Quicksilver, OP, Malibu Ocean Sports, VANS, Val Surf and more, giving away grand prizes such as a tandem kayak, surf gear and sports wear.
This particular evening, Sept. 4, there were five surfboards to be raffled off, a Nidecker snowboard, a one-man kayak from Malibu Ocean Sports, a jacket and bag from Patagonia, not to mention Water Girl beanies, T-shirts, massages and more. Whether it is a beanie or a T-shirt, many are winning prizes. Yet, it is the surfboards that hopeful winners have in sight.
The main focus of the Surfrider Foundation is to keep beaches clean and educate people about the environment. Surfers who wanted to ride clean waves originally formed the Malibu Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, in hopes of keeping the ocean pollution free for the next generation of surfers and ocean swimmers, or for anyone who enjoys the beach.
Last year’s raffle proceeds (approximately $4,000) went to the making of a 30-minute environmental documentary, “Flipside of Malibu,” about the issue of pollution in Malibu. The film was shown during the grand finale, but the Big Wednesday crowd was far too festive to pay close attention to the film. The Surfrider Foundation was also distributing “appreciation plaques” to people who were unique in supporting the foundation. “Malibu Mike,” owner of Malibu Surf Shop on Zuma Beach, received a plaque for donating free surf lessons.
“I am completely surprised,” said a beaming Malibu Mike. Glen Kennedy, owner of Kennedy Surfboards, also received a plaque for donating his custom surfboards to the Big Wednesday raffle.
“We are so happy how everything turned out,” said Amanda Feinstein, marketing director for Duke’s. “Every Wednesday night was busy this summer. This is the busiest Grand Finale we have ever seen. We just hope we can do the same for next year and beat $6,000!”