Florida Surf Museum in Cocoa Beach gets makeover, pays homage to area's surfing royalty
We have liftoff!
Well, at least, the renovated Florida Surf Museum in Cocoa Beach gets off the ground Saturday evening with a public unveiling at a grand opening reception with an appropriate theme: Space Coast Surfing — The Right Stuff.
"It's a whole new look," said John Hughes, executive director of the state's only free-standing surf museum since 2015.
The renovation project on the one side of Ron Jon's beach rental shop at 4275 N. Atlantic Ave., began in March, but the real work came much later with the drywall getting a face-lift, the drop ceiling removed to accommodate the longest of longboards, leaving an open industrial look with exposed beams; and an LED lightning system "that looks really great," Hughes said.
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Bill Whiddon, who joined the museum a year ago, bringing with him a marketing-advertising background in addition to his surfing ability that was further shaped in the Miami area, drew the concept for the space-themed poster, which features astronauts wearing baggies, in sandals or sneakers, standing in front of surfboards. David Cruey is the graphic artist who put the finishing touches onto the poster.
"Purely coincidental," Hughes said, of all the recent interest in the space program with a pending Artemis 1 launch within reach.
Already, the guest list of interested observers has attracted those "from all over the world," Hughes said. "We've had people sign the visitors' log from Germany, Great Britain, Brazil, really, just about everywhere."
What they have seen is a modernized look to the museum space, which Ron Jon has provided rent-free ever since the museum opened in 2003, when Sean O'Hare — son of legendary board shaper Pat O'Hare — was the historian and curator.
What guests will see as they enter is a new backlighted welcoming sign at the entrance and two large panels, one showing former East Coast champion Gary Propper, a longboard legend in the '60's, with Dick Catri's Surfboard Hawaii Team; and Kelly Slater, the 11-time world champion and a legend for all time, on the right panel.
Included in the permanent displays will be Slater's first Hawaii Banzai Pipeline trophy from 1995 and Propper's East Coast Championship trophy from 1966, "when he beat all the surfers (from) California," Hughes said.
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"The exhibit is an overview of Space Coast surfing from the '60's, when it exploded in popularity," said Hughes, explaining that the shortboard evolution in the late '60's triggered an entire new wave of surfers and competitive events world-wide.
The Florida Surf Museum (formerly the Cocoa Beach Surf Museum) was founded in 1999 in a tiny location before moving to the Natural Art Surf Shop on A1A in 2000, before finally landing in a more expansive location at its current site next to the main Ron Jon surf shop.
In 2015, the "Florida" part of the name stuck, expanding the parameters of the collections and connecting periodic special exhibits to other state locations. The Florida Surf Museum is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
The public grand opening is from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10. John Nugent will provide the musical entertainment and hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be available.
The Florida Surf Museum is usually open when the adjacent Ron Jon beach rental business is open. There is no charge to visit, but donations are gladly accepted.
To view more in-depth history of Florida surfing, from Pensacola to Miami, look for the documents at floridasurfmuseum.org, and also connect on Facebook @floridasurfmuseum.
Surfing around Brevard County
Upcoming surfing events include:
• The Gnarly Charley Summer Contest No. 6 in the Grom Surf Series is Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at Paradise Park in Melbourne Beach.
• The defending Florida Cup champion Florida Board Riders, featuring stars of the past, present and future, will host its second South Series contest of the year at Sebastian Inlet (or the backup location at Pelican Beach in Satellite Beach) on Sept. 17.
• The Women of the Waves weekend is Sept. 23-24, with the first night of surf movies at the Drift House. Saturday night's "Dress like it's the '60's" social and dinner will be at the Cocoa Beach Country Club after a day of surfing at Lori Wilson Park. Click on Facebook @floridawomenofthewaves for more details.
• The Sunshine State Games surf competition, plus an ocean swim and more international beach games, takes place Sept. 23-24 at Pelican Beach Park in Satellite Beach. More information: sunshinestategames.com.
• Lastly, there will be no Salty Sweet surf contest this year in Cocoa Beach.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida Surf Museum in Cocoa Beach set to unveil renovations
