NSW Longboarding Association

(Wednesday 21st July, 2010): ONE big festival, 3 separate events, 14 days of competition – the 2010 edition of the Country Energy Australian Surf Festival will be rolling onto the beautiful beaches of Port Macquarie on August 14.

But, some of the hottest action will be out of the water.

Hosted by Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s Glasshouse Arts Conference and Entertainment Centre, this year’s festival includes a creative smorgasbord of world-class art, live music and surf film screenings.

Glasshouse Venue Sales and Marketing Coordinator Bec Washington said they’re excited about the artistic components of this year’s festival.

"The Glasshouse is very happy to be playing an integral role in the Surfing Festival this year," she said. "The relationship has gone from strength to strength and the program at the Glasshouse has doubled since last year. For us, the surfing festival provides an unique opportunity to bring a new audience into the building and demonstrate just how relevant arts and culture can be to people of all ages, interests and background."

Headlining at the Glasshouse will be Reg Mombassa: Selected Works. Mombassa, aka Chris O'Doherty, will present a diverse selection of his art practice as well as a number of surf wear designs.

O'Doherty explores the Australian psyche through his use of religious and political content and themes of popular culture. The use of colour and wickedly absurd humour are now synonymous with O'Doherty's work and the Australian surfing culture.

Complimenting O’Doherty’s eclectic art will be a selection of vintage and retro surfboards from the extensive collection of Mark Ingleby from Coffs Harbour’s Emerald Beach.

Joining Mombassa at the Glasshouse will be the screenings of Going Vertical – The Shortboard Revolution and Tim Bonython’s Sessions 2.

Going Vertical was filmed in various worldly locations and features extraordinary archival footage of surf legends of the past four decades as well as the hottest surfers today.

Set to a pumping soundtrack, Going Vertical is the story of an era, of a revolution and the extraordinary characters that made it happen.

Sessions 2 will expose punters to some of Australia's best fearless surfers taking on what we mortals would think as pure craziness.

Also featuring at the Glasshouse will be surf rockers, Haldanes Daugthers, consisting of leadman Andy Burke - Guitar /Vocals, Neal Purchase Jnr – Guitar, Jamie Kasdagalis – Organ, Lachlan Leckie - Bass guitar and Rob Brown – drums.

This unsigned five piece, which reside on the North Coast of New South Wales are on a break from recording their latest masterpiece to light up the stage at the 2010 Australian Surf Festival.

Music buffs will also get to the hear some tunes from, The Grains, which hail from Byron Bay, New South Wales and are an eclectic mix of roots, rock and reggae with their own natural, alluring twist.

The Grains’, who are made up of Dallas James, Tommy Flint, Chris O'Neill, Christian Barker, Josh Mackenzie, are coming off the back of recording a brand new record at Byron Bay’s Studio 301. The boys are hitting the road to promote their latest record at the 2010 Australian Surf Festival.

Bands - King Tide and Mojo Bluesmen will also get a gig at the Glasshouse.

Sydney band King Tide is what happens when a bunch of absurdly talented musos surrender to the Rasta beats of reggae. Several years and another album on the global appeal of King Tide's infectious, high energy music has seen the ever popular band be the first Australian band to be signed to prestigious UK record label, Urban Sedated.

The Mojo Bluesmen, who made up of Kiam Adcock and Tim Everett are a busking duo whose passion for taking the original blues to people in the street, has seen them travel Australia wide as free spirits promoting their unique musical style.

The popular pair from the Mid North Coast of New South Wales will share their inspiration, achievements, ambitions and dreams with audiences at the festival.

All tickets are now available online at www.glasshouse.org.au, by phone on 02 6581 8888 or at the Glasshouse Box Office – cnr Clarence and Hay Streets, Port Macquarie.

*All Ticket Prices include Booking Fee **Glasshouse doors and bar open each night 1 hour prior to scheduled start time

The 2010 Country Energy Australian Surf Festival, which will run from 14-28 August at Port Macquarie on the New South Wales Mid North Coast, will see 350 of the best surfers from around the country competing for 24 prestigious national titles over three spectacular disciplines –longboard, open surfmasters and stand up paddleboard (SUP).

For more information about the Country Energy Australian Surf Festival please visit www.surfingaustralia.com

The 2010 Country Energy Australian Surf Festival is proudly supported by Events NSW, Port Macquarie Hastings Council, The Mercure Centro Hotel, Australian Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Sundowner Breakwall Tourist Park, the Glasshouse Arts, Conference and Entertainment Centre, Suncorp, Saltwater Wine Surf Centres, Australian Sports Commission, Coastalwatch, NBN Television, Port Macquarie News, Star FM, 2MC FM, Surfing World Magazine, Pacific Longboarder Magazine, Surfing Australia and Surfing NSW.

Entertainment Schedule:
Surf Art / Reg Mombassa: Selected Works / Thursday 29 – Sunday 26 September 2010 / 10am – 5pm Tues – Fri & 10am – 4pm Sat & Sun / Free

Surf Film #1 / Going Vertical – The Shortboard Revolution / Wednesday 18th Aug 2010 / 7:30pm* / Tickets $17.50*

Surf Music #1 / Haldanes Daughters + The Grains / Friday 20th August 2010 / 7:45pm* / Tickets $12.50*

Surf Film #2 / Tim Bonython’s Sessions 2 - Slab Hunter and MayDayz - 2 massive days at Teahupo'o / Thursday 26th August 2010 / 7:30pm** / Tickets $12.50*

Surf Music #2 / King Tide + Mojo Bluesmen / Friday 27th August 2010 / 7:45pm* / Tickets $17.50*

About Country Energy:
Country Energy is a leading Australian energy services corporation owned by the New South Wales Government, with around 4,500 employees serving more than 800,000 customers. The utility manages Australia’s largest power supply network across 95 per cent of New South Wales’ land mass and offers retail electricity in six states and territories.

www.countryenergy.com.au

About Port Macquarie:
The NSW North coast – from the Hunter to the Northern Rivers, attracts over 60 per cent of all overnight trips during which visitors went surfing (source Tourism NSW). Port Macquarie is strategically located in the heart of this popular surf region. With our accessible surfing coastline for all skill levels, and our long established urban beach culture, we are in the perfect position to continue to grow our reputation as a premier surf destination, and securing the Country Energy Australian Surf Festival for the next three years is testament to this.

www.portmacquarieinfo.com.au

About Events NSW:
The NSW Government through Events NSW is building a world-class events program for Sydney and NSW. We use a fresh approach to partner with all levels of government as well as business, the community and the events industry to develop and bring the right kind of events to our city and our State. Our objective is to maximise the economic, strategic and community benefits of events.

www.eventsnsw.com.au

 Media Contact:
Jake White, Surfing Australia, M. 0422 987 069 E.jake@surfingaustralia.com