Surfing in Charlotte

Our family loves to surf. We frequently drive to Folly Beach, Wrightsville Beach, the Outer Banks, or catch a direct flight to Central America. We head to the USNWC or Lake Norman for a stand up paddle workout.

Between all of us, we have 12 surf boards (ok, Scott has 11 and we share the stand up paddle board; and he surfs 10 foot waves and I stick to the five-footers). Wherever we go, surfing is an adventure, not to mention, a great total-body exercise, cheap, and fun for the entire family.

Scott surfing in Nicaragua

Two years ago, we met a Charlottean who loves surfing even more than we do. Adam Aldrich and his wife Stacy (and their son Cameron) had just moved to Charlotte from California. Adam went through beach withdrawal, of course, but found a way to stay connected with the waves by co-founding the Surfrider Foundation.

Picture of Stacy and Adam

The Surfrider Foundation of Charlotte is a non-profit organization that provides educational awareness around the issues that are detrimental to coasts and waterways in North Carolina.

Why does this matter for land-locked Charlotteans?

Those cigarette butts people toss in Sugar Creek or the coke and beer cans left on the beach after kayaking at the US National Whitewater Center may eventually end up in Folly Beach or Isle of Palms, SC.

Plastic bags we bring home in hoards from Harris Teeter can kill ocean life. Ocean beaches are impacted by North Carolinians since the river system that starts in our mountains feeds all the way through the Cattawba to the Atlantic Ocean.

Great mission, right? So last week, we were thrilled to be invited to join Adam and Stacy for a beer at Sycamore Brewery to raise awareness of Surfrider’s mission through art. Stacy Aldrich coordinated a 3-day art exhibit there called “Protect,” comprised of paintings and photography by North Carolinian artists.

Stacy was required to orchestrate the event as her Masters of Fine Arts degree-completing requirement.  Her idea was to illustrate scenery from our extraordinary state in order to bring awareness to the community about the destructive damages caused by pollution.

“We must Protect our environment to continue enjoying its beauty,” Stacy shared with the 150 attendees who joined the event at Sycamore Brewery last Thursday. We loved this event. Not only for the local craft brew, live music, and food truck, but because we saw Charlotteans come together for a great cause. You know: being the change they wish to see.

Surfrider Event at Sycamore Brewery

Here are a few of the art pieces that were juried for the show.

Marsh Study by Allison Chambers at JWV Artists

Avon Pier From Above by Chris Frick (we bought this one!)

Standing Tall by Janine Medlin at JWV Artists

The Field by Lauren Reddick

Turbulence by Sheila Faye

Another thing we love about Surfrider is that we can join the organization to teach our kids about the importance of community service through local cleanup projects.

Last year, we took our kids to a Surfider cleanup at Mountain Island Lake with other young families to help clean up trash left by weekenders. Surfrider Charlotte also works with area schools to teach youth how to become better citizens by keeping the environment clean.

Additionally, the Charlotte Surfrider Chapter partners with coastal chapters during local and national campaigns. Surfrider members and volunteers clean nearly 2,000 pounds of trash from the Charlotte community each year and formed the Rise Against Plastics campaign to reduce the use of plastic waste in the local region.

I know you’ll never think of surfer dudes the same way.

Looking for a family community service project? Always wanted to learn to surf? Check out Surfrider’s Charlotte Chapter soon.