Some of the most unique cultural experiences in surfing are those rare uniting of our various tribes. For a tiny sliver of the surfing population surf contests actually facilitate this mixing of cultures, but for the vast majority of surfers, it's the surf movie that pulls us together best...and these days, surfing festivals, like next week's California Surf Festival in Oceanside, do the best job of getting all of our tribes in one place.

California's surfing community has always been a fragmented one. In a State as big as ours that's to be expected. Most of us settle into our familiar patterns and rarely roam beyond our favorite go-to surf spots. Ask yourself this, did you surf more than five spots last month? If you did, chances are you just got your drivers license or you were recently handed a pink slip. Regardless of the reason, you're hardcore, so congrats. And you deserve an even bigger pat on the back one if you drove more than 80 miles to one of those spots.

Sadly, we usually forget what we're missing until we go mingle. There's much to be said for touching, smelling and wandering a new horizon. And in California there is certainly no shortage of those. We also have a diverse surf culture. More diverse, surprisingly, than almost anywhere else in the world. Case in point: Newport Beach is a far cry from Oxnard, which is a light years away from Malibu, which is nothing like Morro Bay, and don't get me started on Encinitas vs. Huntington.

Next week, from the 19th through the 22nd, the California Surf Museum, a beautiful 5600 square foot space in Oceanside that houses much of our rich history, will be honoring all of them with their huge four-day celebration of our heritage. The festival will feature a healthy dose of surf music, surf movies, and surf culture, all the while raising money for a very worthy cause, the museum itself.

There are 12 feature length films on tap, along with 12 short films, including the first sneak peek at Kelly Slater's IMAX project. The flicks will be showing at one of three venues over the four-day event. But that's just the tip of the spear. Nat Young, who changed surfing back in 1966 at Oceanside during the World Contest, will be on hand to talk story on the opening night. Renowned ukulele strummer Jake Shimabukuro will be delighting the acoustic senses on Friday and Clark Little will be showcasing his groundbreaking photography over the weekend. Some of the "must see" films being shown include Sea of Darkness, HighWater, Still Filthy and Dear & Yonder. There's also a Hot Groms Shorts Film contest.

Of course, one of the biggest celenrations will take place on Saturday night, when Surfer Magazine will be celebrating its first 50 years. Festival organizers are paying tribute to the sport's longest running print publication. As part of the celebration, almost all of the past editors and several of the past photo editors, including John Severson, Jeff Divine, Drew Kampion, Art Brewer and editor-turned-historian Matt Warshaw will be there in attendance talking story and answering questions about the magazine's rich history.

So if you've been looking for an excuse to escape your home town for a day or so, next weekend might be a good one to try Oceanside. Hey, for what it's worth, there's always a fun wave to be had there.

A schedule of events for the California Surf Festival is listed below. For more information and ticket purchases, go to the California Surf Museum website at www.surfmuseum.org or call 760-721-6876. Films and schedule subject to change.

The Three downtown Oceanside screening venues:
CSM = CALIFORNIA SURF MUSEUM
GRACE = Grace Theater (at the Grace Chapel), 102 N. Freeman St.
BROOKS = Sunshine Brooks Theatre, 217 N. Coast Highway

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19
BROOKS
7:00 to 8:30 An Evening With Nat Young

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
CSM
6:00 - 7:00 Jake Shimabukuro VIP reception.
GRACE
5:00 - 6:30 Short film: Madera. Feature film: Shaped.
8:00 - 10:00 Jake Shimabukuro in Concert
BROOKS
6:00 - 7:30 Short film: Verve. Feature: Dear & Yonder.
8:00 - 9:30 Short film: Gum For My Boat. Feature film: Still Filthy

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
CSM
The Museum is open 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
6:00 - 7:00 Surfer Magazine 50th Anniversary tribute VIP reception.
GRACE
12:00 to 1:00 = to be determined
1:00 to 3:00 Short film: All Points South. Feature film: Waveriders
3:00 to 4:30 Feature film: Sea of Darkness
5:00 to 6:30 Feature film: HighWater
8:00 to 10:00 Surfer Magazine 50 Year Anniversary Tribute

BROOKS
12:00 - 1:00 Hot Grom Shorts
1:00 to 2:30 Clark Little champagne reception.
2:30 to 4:30 Short film: Tom's Creation and Plantation. Feature film: Hanging Five
5:00 to 6:00 Feature film: Echo Beach
6:00 to 7:30 Feature film: The Drifter
8:00 to 9:00 Short film: Inundation. Feature film: Lost Prophets

NOVEMBER 22, 2009
BROOKS
12:00 to 1:00: Hot Grom Shorts
1:00 to 2:30 Feature film: BS!
3:00 to 4:30 Short film: El Da Despues. Short film: Shaping A Life. First "Silver Surfer Award" presented to Gary Linden
4:00 to 5:30 Awards ceremony.

Funds raised from the California Surf Festival will assist the California Surf Museum in its growth and outreach to the community. The California Surf Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located at 312 Pier View Way, Oceanside, Calif. 92054; (760) 721-6876; www.surfmuseum.org. Open daily 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and until 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays. Admission.

CONTACT:
MARKETING AND SPONSORSHIP: Lou Niles, (760) 579-3826, lounbr@pacbell.net
FESTIVAL PROGRAMMING: Keiko Beatie, (949) 395-0879, keikobeatie@gmail.com
TICKETS AND EVENTS: California Surf Museum, (760) 721-6876, CSM@surfmuseum.org