Texas women surfers are focus at museum

W omen surfers of Texas, including some from Port Aransas, will be

Former Port Aransas resident Danielle Dodson rides hurricane surf at Bob Hall Pier in 2003. This photo is among images that will be on display as part of "Texas Women, Texas Waves," an exhibit opening June 7 at the Texas Surf Museum in Corpus Christi. Courtesy photo by G Scott Imaging the focus of a

new exhibit at the Texas Surf Museum in Corpus Christi.

Titled Texas Women. Texas Waves, the exhibit opens on Friday, June 6 and will remain on display through October. The exhibit will include surfboards, memorabilia, videos and dozens of photos and written profiles related to Texas women surfers of today and yesterday, young and old, from throughout the state.

Current and former Port Aransas residents including Mary Goldsmith, Kalani Balcom, Mary Lynn Magee, Kate Prejean, Paulette Just, Brittany Tupaj and Meagan Callaway will be among those in the exhibit. While some women in the exhibit are surfers, others are non-surfers who have made contributions to surfing culture in Texas.

The opening of Texas Women. Texas Waves will be part of the fifth annual Water Street Market Music & Art Festival June 6-8.

Texas' only museum dedicated to the sport of surfing stands at 309 N. Water St., next-door to the Executive Surf Club eatery, in downtown Corpus Christi. Admission, like the waves, is always free.

The surf museum explores surfing's general history and showcases the Lone Star State's unique place in that history. The facility contains hundreds of photos and artifacts that tell the story of how surfing came to Texas more than 70 years ago and eventually flourished. An estimated 20,000 surfers now inhabit Texas.

The surf museum exhibits classic boards dating from the early 1940s, plus modern models. The museum also contains scores of other pieces of surf memorabilia, much of it rare, including original surf movie posters, surf art, and collectible surf music albums. A mock garage shop, complete with the tools used for making surfboards, stands along one wall of the museum; and so does a small theater where free surf movies are shown every day.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Phone: 361-888-SURF (7873) or 361-882-2364. On the Web: www.texassurfmuseum.com.