An Avila Beach cleanup will feature more than people picking up trash.
The event, held in light of National Earth Day, is sponsored by the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, Firestone Walker Brewing and Nectar Ales. Mr. Rick’s Beach Bar and Night Club is also collaborating on the event and will host an after-party, featuring local reggae band The Kicks and DJ Shaggy Saturday afternoon.
“Sounds like a righteous beach cleanup,” said local surfer and Cal Poly student Lindsey Mitchell, after hearing about the event.
The event will not only leave one of the most popular local beaches clean, but also further environmental efforts by the Surfrider Foundation.
The San Luis Bay Surfrider Foundation is a local branch of a nonprofit international group that helps to protect the world’s oceans. They have been working to protect and maintain the Central California landscape, oceans and beaches for more than 25 years.
The beach cleanup is open to all who would like to participate and will begin at 10 a.m. at the Avila Beach Pier.
Evan Dyer, a representative from Firestone Walker and Nectar Ales, said he is excited about another opportunity to support a local environmental cause.
“We’re going to try to get back in the creek and get people covering every inch of the beach to find as much trash as we can,” Dyer said. “Avila Beach is a pretty awesome place. We want to do anything we can to keep it that way.”
The beach cleanup will finish around 1 p.m., and participants are encouraged to stick around for the after party, which will begin on the Mr. Rick’s patio at 2 p.m. and has no cover charge. The patio borders the Avila Beach boardwalk and The Kicks will be playing sets throughout the afternoon with DJ Shaggy filling in the gaps.
Mr. Rick’s booking and promotions manager, Levi Caron, is partnering on the Earth Day event to raise funds for the Surfrider Foundation.
There will be barbecue tri-tip sandwiches for sale and massive amounts of Nectar Ale, Caron said. To support the cause, Mr. Rick’s and Nectar Ales have agreed to donate three dollars for every pint of Nectar Ale sold to the Surfrider Foundation.
“We are very grateful to have the collaboration and support of Firestone Walker and Nectar Ales,” said Jeff Pienak, chairman of the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. “We love partnering with them on our events, and we also love their beer.”
Dyer said Firestone Walker and Nectar Ales have chosen to support the Surfrider Foundation as often as possible because they share a love for the Central Coast.
Though the Surfrider Foundation holds regular beach cleanups, this will be the first event for national Earth Day.
“I think this really has the potential to become an annual thing,” Caron said.
The Kicks is also very excited about being a part of the event. It is an increasingly popular band who deliver a soulful blend of roots-era reggae, jazz and ska music.
“It going to be a fun one,” Kicks lead guitarist Mike Claire said. “Anything we can to support a good cause, especially locally, we jump on the opportunity. With many of our band members being surfers, we definitely love what the Surfrider Foundation does.”
All the members of the six-piece band are Cal Poly alumni and the majority of them met in the dorms their freshman year. Most of the them lived in a house together their second year, where they played music nightly and established the foundation for what would become The Kicks.
“We just started jamming together regularly and having a great time,” Claire said. “That’s where the name The Kicks comes from; we just jammed for kicks.”