Summer Vibes Festival bringing skimboarding, more to Dewey Beach
As the summer gets hot, the sports get cooler when the annual Summer Vibes Fest returns to Dewey Beach and Rehoboth Beach beginning Aug. 11.
The festival features competitive skimboarding, stand-up paddleboarding and skateboarding across three events over five days.
"We've really put Dewey Beach on the map as a destination for not only skimboarding but for board enthusiasts and people that enjoy the whole scene and culture around it," said professional skimboarder and Dewey native Jason Wilson, co-founder of Alley-Oop Skim, co-organizers of the event with Skim USA.
The festival brings about 200 competitors and their families each year from as far away as Japan, Portugal and Mexico, but also thousands of spectators from around the world, Wilson said.
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The flagship event is the Zap Pro/Am World Championships of Skimboarding, held on the beach at Dagsworthy Street from Aug. 11-13. The competition is marking its 36th consecutive year. More than 100 top amateur and professional boarders gather each year to compete for trophies and prize bags.
Alley-Oop took over organizing the competition from Wilson's father, Harry, and four years ago began building the Summer Vibes Fest around it.
Two other events were added to draw a wider range of board sport enthusiasts.
The Rehoboth Am Skate Jam, held Aug. 19 at Epworth Skate Park in Rehoboth Beach, features the best local skaters in street and bowl competitions.
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The East of Maui SUP Sprint Challenge at North Beach, held on Rehoboth Bay near McKinley Street on Aug. 18, features stand-up paddlers of all skill levels in a 3-mile race.
But it's not just about the competitions. The festival features live music and board art. Wilson calls Dewey Beach a center of skim culture, and that's what the Summer Vibes Fest celebrates.
Live music started at the festival just last year. Hammerheads in Dewey helps bring acts to the beach for the event, Wilson said.
Appearing Friday, Aug. 11, at noon will be Hotbed, a band in the college scene that formed at University of Delaware. Washington, DC, reggae band Nappy Riddem will perform at 5 p.m. Local DJ Woody B will spin tunes all day Saturday.
"The Art of Skim" will open on the night of Aug. 12, featuring miniature skimboards decorated by board riders and local artists. A silent auction will support Skim USA.
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"It's unique, you get some people that will do some fine art on it, and some guy who maybe spray paints on it or maybe some street-inspired art, to check out and possibly pick up for your home for decoration," Wilson said.
Chef Hari Cameron of a(muse.) and Grandpa (Mac) will do a cooking demonstration with samples at noon Saturday.
New this year will be a three-part television series about the event, to air on local NBC affiliate WRDE.
After pitching the idea to WRDE, the station teamed Wilson with the producers of "Coastal Cuisine." Three 30-minute episodes will be produced — a preview show Aug. 5 at 7 p.m., an update on Aug. 12, and a wrap-up on Aug. 26.
He hopes it will eventually lead to live broadcasting or webcasting of the competitions.
"Hopefully one day people from Japan can tune in and watch their person who came out to the event," Wilson said. "It's been a lot of work, but I think it's going to pay off to expand our audience."
If you go
The event starts with the Zap Pro/Am World Championships of Skimboarding Aug. 11-13 beginning each day at 9 a.m. on the Dagsworthy Street Beach in Dewey Beach. The East of Maui SUP Sprint Challenge at North Beach follows on Friday, Aug. 18, at 4 p.m. at 125 McKinley St. in Dewey Beach. The event concludes the next day, Saturday, Aug. 19, at 11 a.m. with the Rehoboth Am Skate Jam at Epworth Skate Park, 19285 Holland Glade Road in Rehoboth Beach.