Texas surfing history on exhibit

The Texas Surf Museum in Corpus Christi.

The best of Texas surf photography, some of it shot in Port Aransas, will be on public display this summer as part of the Texas Surf Museum's newest major exhibit.

"Big Shots - The Work of Texas Surf Photographers" opens June 6 and runs through the summer. The show was created by Port Aransas residents Dan Parker (a South Jetty reporter) and his wife, Michelle Christenson, the surf museum's curators.

The exhibit will include more than 100 stunning photos shot by surf photographers from throughout the Lone Star state's coastline, from Galveston to Corpus Christi to South Padre Island.

The photographers include Jimmy Metyko of Houston; Jon Steele of Corpus Christi; Billy Hill of Galveston; Lance Gandy of Galveston; Erich Schlegel of Austin; Dallas McMahon of Corpus Christi; Mike Boyd of Corpus Christi; G. Scott of Corpus Christi; Becky McCormack of South Padre Island; Chuck Turkington of South Padre Island; and Wade Dunkin of Harlingen.

The photos run the gamut, depicting everything from Dunkin's breathtaking shots of towering hurricane surf crashing at South Padre Island, to Metyko's groundbreaking work, which includes a three-shot sequence of a young Kelly Slater surfing at Corpus Christi's Bob Hall Pier, a few years before winning his first of many world surfing championships.

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.

The 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.

Admission, like the waves, is free, but the surf museum appreciates donations. The museum is located at 309 N. Water Street, next-door to the Executive Surf Club, in downtown Corpus Christi.

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. The phone number is 361-882-2364, the same as for the attached Surf Club Records shop. On the Web: www.texassurfmuseum.com.