Salts And Suits Saddles World Class Lineup For Bleach* Festival

Feb. 26, 2013 - PRLog -- Gold Coast, Australia, 25th February 2013 ~ As the Gold Coast prepares for the first event of the world surfing tour and the crowning of last year’s champions, a unique gathering of surfing industry personalities and world renowned surfers including Mark Richards, Wayne Rabbit Bartholomew, Peter Townend and David ‘Rasta’ Rastovich are set to converge on the Gold Coast for a timely event called Salts And Suits at surf culture celebration, Bleach* Festival.  The event will be a public forum that aims to explore the complexities of the current state of the surf industry. Author Phil Jarratt’s original book titled Salts And Suits examined the extraordinary true story of how a few young beach bums turned their passion for surfing into one of the nation’s fastest growing leisure industries. Fast forward to to 2013 and plunging share prices and takeover bids make it timely to ask where that billion dollar industry is at now. Join industry experts from a cross section of backgrounds as they pick up where the book left off. Never shy of controversy, Phil Jarratt and surf author Tim Baker and an entertaining and industry-savvy panel will lead the audience on an insightful discussion on the fate of the modern surf industry. Panelists include Dougall Walker from Volcom, Stephen Kay from Rip Curl, Glen Casey from Patagonia, Keith Curtain from Australian Surf Business Magazine and other guests from across the surfing world. All are welcome to join this rare assembly from 6pm, Wednesday 27th of February at The Coolangatta Hotel, entry by gold coin donation.

Salts And Suits joins a wave of free and ticketed events presented by Bleach* Festival that celebrate coastal culture. Bleach* Festival officially got underway last weekend, and will run until March 3rd to overlap with the opening weekend of the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro.

This week, surf enthusiasts can also step back in time and delve into Gold Coast’s celebrated beach culture atSurfing the 1950s & 1960s at Surf World Museum Gold Coast, experience the forefront of ideas from surf tourism and industry experts from around the world at the Global Surf Cities Conference, rub shoulders with surf coaching elite at Surfing Australia’s Green Room Conference, admire artwork by Potts at Cafe D’Bar or marvel at the creative asymmetric surfboard designs which blur the line between functionality and art by Ralph Riddel at the Rainbow Bay Surf Club for Surfboards Dreaming.

From 27th of February, festival goers can also enjoy five big nights of free outdoor films by the sea at Bleachside Flicks supported by Patagonia and FuelTV. A different selection of movies celebrating surf culture will be aired from 7pm including The Heart And The Sea, Minds In the Water, El Mar Mi Alma, Fruits Of Dystopia and more. For the full film program, see www.bleachfestival.com.au

The documentary, Splinters which explores the evolution of surfing in Papua New Guinea will also screen during the festival at a Kallalu Gallery on the 26th of February.

Then there’s The Longest Wave, a conceptual theme central to the 2013 festival based on a wave ridden by surfer Damon Harvey from Snapper Rocks to North Kirra – a distance of just under 2 kms – back in 2002. At the time the feat was lauded by surf media around the world as one of the longest continual ocean waves ever ridden, but the remarkable ride had slipped into dusty realms of surfing folk law until surf author Tim Baker and Bleach* Festival Director Louise Bezzina decided the story begged a revisit. For Bleach* 2013, The Longest Wave Photographic Exhibition will examine the history of the area Damon’s wave covered through a community exhibition curated by Michael Aird and Tim Baker, from stunning modern images by some of the nation’s most respected surf photographers to family photos taken at the turn of the century. The exhibition will also feature video interviews with local surfing identities including Damon, current world champions Joel Parkinson and Stephanie Gilmore and a host of colourful residents as they share stories and recollections of the region. The Longest Wave Coastal Walk will fuse elements of street theatre to a guided tour of the area spanned by Damon’s ride, while The Longest Wave Installation will interpret Damon’s ride artistically, with celebrated local artists responding to the theme including Nick Chalmers, Nick Lawrence, Jae Copp, Narani Henson, Claudio Kirac, Beastman, Mandana Mapar, Shelli Bankier, Mari Hirata, Peter Joli Wilson, Tristan Schulz and more.

The Longest Wave Installation is housed at the Gold Coast Bulletin Bleach* Hub, the festival’s main precinct filled that springs to life each day with shipping container art galleries and hammocks swinging in the breeze, and hosts markets, live music, workshops and free activities each weekend. Aside from hosting surf art and photography exhibitions, the Gold Coast Bulletin Bleach* Hub will also host youth performing arts festival 2High on The Coaston the 2nd March, and each day also features the ability to work remotely from the festival at Coworking by the Beach, a free WIFI enabled work space overlooking the ultimate office at Coolangatta beach.

Other events still to come in the Bleach* Festival calendar include the Bleach* Rock and Roll Party featuringViolent Soho, The Medics, Kingswood, Blonde Bear and Woe & Flutter at the Coolangatta Hotel on March 2nd, and fashion expose Sway On Sunset featuring local designers for a poolside soiree at Komune Resort with live music by the alluring Ginger and The Ghost plus much much more.

At the festival’s conclusion, Tweed Coast based writer, film maker and musician Andrew Kidman will be debuting the preview of an exciting new surf film project called Spirit of Akasha at the festival finale, Bleach* Last Wave, hosted on March 3rd on the exclusive Surfers Deck at the Quiksilver Pro directly on the sands of Snapper Rocks. The evening will feature Andrew's band The Windy Hills playing a live soundtrack to the movie, and the event is headlined by Mat McHugh and The Seperatista Soundsystem for one limited capacity show.

For ticketing and venue information, visit the Bleach* Festival website: http://www.bleachfestival.com.au

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Carolyn Emge, Soul Arch Media
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