The Tourmaline Tailgaters Surfing Association memorial to the community’s surfing heritage at Tourmaline Canyon Surfing Park will be celebrated Saturday, Feb. 23, as the donation effort rounds third base and heads for completion and construction.
The Tourmaline Surfers Memorial will recognize surfers of all ages, male and female, the famous and the unknown, with a granite plaque on a stone pedestal overlooking the North PB beaches from PB Point to the Crystal Pier.
To finance the monument, Tailgaters have been selling 4-by-8-inch sidewalk brick pavers that will surround the memorial. Brick purchasers may create a message to be inscribed on their brick. Each brick can accommodate 15 spaces of letters on three lines of text.
A lottery drawing will be held Saturday at 9 a.m., when the placement of the bricks will be determined by pulling names out of a hat. The random selection process will assure anyone who has purchased one of the $200 bricks an equal chance for a prominent brick location.
Some of the 400 bricks are still available.
“By purchasing a memorial brick, you will have a chance to place a permanent message at the memorial for many generations of surfers to enjoy,” said association president Greg Miller.
“This is a one-time opportunity!” added Glenn Paculba of Star Surfing Company and member of the Tailgaters steering committee.
The committee, which has spent two years getting the memorial designed and approved, includes Miller, Tom Davis, Jeff Grant, John Pruitt and Paculba.
Brick purchasers will not need to be present for the drawing. But the forecast is for sunny weather and a solid north swell.
For information about purchasing remaining bricks, call Miller, (619) 997-6869, and Paculba, (858) 273-7827, or visit Star Surfing Company at 4652 Mission Blvd.
Information is also available at www.tourmalinememorial.com.