On Saturday, June 10, Tofino welcomed a unique community of surfers, artists and shapers to the shores of Cox Bay.
The one-day beach festival celebrated craftsmanship, collaboration and creativity in surf culture.
“This was a new concept for us were we take four shapers that are surfers, they create two boards each, and those two boards stay behind in the community wherever we go,” said Vans surf global marketing director Scott Sisamis.
“We thought Tofino was such a welcoming and surf stoked place that it was the perfect place to do this first one,” he said.
Professional surfers Dane Reynolds, Tanner Gudauskas, Alex Knost, and Joel Tudor presented a library of their own hand-shaped custom surfboards to share with the public. The boards now live permanently at Storm Surf Shop.
Knost told the Westerly News he was taken back by the tranquil beauty of the community.
“When you live in Southern California and you think about coming to Canada to surf you’re not necessarily associating it with fairly warm weather, sunny skies and light winds. It was a pleasant surprise for sure,” Knost said.
The inaugural Vans Duct Tape Festival was held in partnership with Vans, Surfrider Foundation and the District of Tofino.
Sisamis said the Vans crew will return to Tofino.
“I think we’ll come back to do something whether it’s bring an artist back that we use to create the artwork for these events or whether it’s another Duct Tape Festival, we’ll be back here someday,” he said.