Name Has Changed but Festival Is Still a Party

Whether you dub it a party or a festival, Saturday’s 12th annual California Beach whatchamacallit was a success, organizers said.

The California Beach Festival, formerly the Beach Party, was graced this year by sunny skies and warm weather.

“This is the nicest it’s been in the four years I’ve worked here,” said Andrea Anderson, spokeswoman for the city’s community services division. “People shouldn’t have to wear coats to the beach. Everyone’s out in bikinis and shorts and just having a good time.”

Anderson estimated that 17,000 people showed up Saturday, compared with 18,000 on the first day of last year’s event.

Organizers changed the title of the affair to elicit a more family-friendly feeling.

“This is truly a big family festival,” said Faye Campbell, the city’s director of special events. “This used to appeal more to the younger set.”

To ensure that families would have fun at the festival, the children’s area was expanded, Anderson said. A few more Jolly Jumps were included and new art stations were set up. The event also featured the traditional pony rides and children’s entertainment, held at the Sandblast Stage.

Twelve-year-old Kristen Kahle of Moorpark was having lots of fun at the kids’ pavilion.

After she spun around and around in the Spaceball, which made her slightly disoriented, Kristen said, “Yeah, I’d go again. It gave you a head rush but I’m not really that dizzy.”

Though some aspects of the festival have changed over the years, the long-board surfing contest remains its tried-and-true event.

“It’s really the spirit of the whole thing,” Campbell said.

About 275 surfers on extra-long surfboards competed Saturday, doing fancy tricks up and down their logs, hoping to fetch extra points. Winners will be announced today.

Longtime contest director Betty Elder said the waves were slower and lower on Saturday but “still surfable.”

Despite the waves, a local T-shirt stand, run by two Silver Strand brothers, was raking in business selling originally designed surfing shirts.

“Kelly and I started our business three months ago out of one of our garages,” said Ray Junge, who also works as a part-time contractor. “We just thought this area didn’t have a local beach T-shirt.”

He said they created a shirt for Silver Strand but then found there was a demand for other community sites, such as Hollywood Beach and Oxnard Shores.

“We’re not going to sell to stores, though,” Junge said. “We’ll probably just stick to the festivals.”

The festival, on the promenade next to the Ventura Pier, continues today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and free to children under 12.