Stars Out in Montauk to Save the Coastline at Two Coasts: One Ocean
A private residence in Montauk on Saturday, August 8, will host the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the world’s waves and beaches, for the inaugural benefit event Two Coasts: One Ocean.
Along with a private residence in Malibu, California, the Montauk venue will welcome guests, surfers and musicians to defend the coasts they hold dear from threats such as water pollution and erosion.
Surfrider Foundation has assembled a host committee for each venue. Montauk’s host committee includes actor Adrian Grenier, star of HBO series Entourage and the subsequent film of the same name.
Other host committee members for Montauk include model Leilani Bishop, interior designer and the writer Athena Calderone, author Susan Casey, professional surfer Quincy Davis, filmmakers Mikey and Lisa DeTemple, fashion consultant Julie Gilhart, hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb, model Carolyn Murphy, professional surfer Balaram Stack, gallery owner Lisa Spellman, and CEO of Vimeo Kerry Trainor.
Each event will be limited to 200 guests and attendees in Montauk will bump to music from DJs Keala Kennelly, who is also a professional surfer and actress, and Tennessee Thomas, who was named by Vanity Fair as one of New York’s chic-est DJs in 2014.
But the evening isn’t about the evolution of Montauk as a hot spot for celebrities and models. It’s about the Montauk that has long been home to laid-back surfers and lovers of seaside living.
“Montauk is the perfect venue to highlight and celebrate the critical work and success of our chapter network. For example, the Eastern Long Island chapter, based in Montauk, is trying to stop the US Army Corps of Engineers from destroying the downtown beach with a 3,000-foot-long by 15-foot-high sandbag seawall, “ said Dr. Chad Nelsen, Surfrider CEO.
The Surfrider Foundation filed a lawsuit in state court earlier this year after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a multi-million dollar contract to H&L Construction of Bay Shore to construct the wall of sandbags.
“Surfrider is pretty much against sea walls. They may protect private property but the hard structure causes the beach erosion to get worse and the public property disappears.” said John Weber, Surfrider’s mid-Atlantic regional manager covering chapters from Montauk to Virginia Beach.
The chapter regularly hosts beach cleanups and leads an all-volunteer water quality monitoring program to highlight water pollution issues in the area. “They are a perfect example our how indispensable and essential our chapter network is to the safety and health of our coasts,” Nelsen said.
Along with the $500 ticket for attending there are also sponsorship opportunities to invest in the Surfrider Foundation with a “Champion” donation for $25,000, a “Guardian” donation for $10,000, a “Protector” donation for $5,000 and a “Defender” donation for $2,500.
It was Long Island’s own backward manifest destiny that the Hamptons’ nightlife would spread eastward to the tip of the island, but events like Two Coasts: One Ocean underscore a potentially symbiotic relationship between celebrity Montauk fans and Montauk locals— both can come together to protect the natural beauty of the place they love.