BIGGER, BETTER, BRO-ier. ////\\\\ Switchfoot Bro-Am 2012

Moonlight Beach, Encinitas, Ca. The 8th Annual Switchfoot Bro-Am. Click 4 pix.The 8th annual Switchfoot Bro-Am set all the records.  More people, more money & awareness raised to support STAND UP FOR KIDS, more music, more surfing, more love for community and more fun.  Everybody Bro-ed out.

As chronicled the past 2 years on AspenSpin, the Bro-Am is basically the "perfect beach day" at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.  This year's incarnation might be in the running for Best Day Ever.  A picture perfect So. Cal. beach day filled with surf, sun, music and Bros.

Click 4 pix:    The Bro-Am SOIREE  and    The BRO-AM 2012

D Street, Encinitas.  Air Temp: 65 degrees, Water Temp: 65 degrees.  Steady winds from the SW with some good swells creating totally surfable waves in the 2-4 ft. range.   The surf contest field was composed of world champs and rock stars, and this year was the inaugural Rob Machado Bro Junior, so grommets too.   The day included a non-stop array of musical talent on the main stage culminating with a killer set from Jon Foreman and Friends (a.k.a. Switchfoot).  All presented by Hurley.

If was Switchfoot all weekend.  Justin Cote...surf joust Champ.

Thursday was the posh Bro-Am Auction Night Soiree at The Crosby in Rancho Sante Fe.  Event chairs Kim Goodeve Green (Standup for Kids, Oceanside) and Mia Stefanko (Ranch & Coast Magazine) stepped their game up to a new level.  A-Spin rarely goes East of the 101, let alone I-5 but when the Bro-Am throws down in Rancho Santa Fe we head East.  The Crosby provided a gorgeous setting and mother nature presented us with an awesome evening for fantastic food and wine tastings from  local restaurants.   Purveyors included The Crosby, Zenbu, Rimel's, Pacifica Del Mar, Pacific Coast Grill (almost open), Del Mar Rendezvous, Bull Taco and more.  Unbelievable silent auction and live auction items and opportunity bids kept the money flowing... all to benefit StandUp for Kids.   The Switchfoot guys were super-psyched to play an intimate show for about 500 people...their people... on a makeshift stage at The Crosby.

Friday Night, Swithcfoot played a gig at the San Diego County Fair, a.k.a. The Del Mar Fair.   As a season ticket holder, Andy- Party made the scene.  The general admission, SRO show was sold out.   5 tiers of Swithfoot fans filled the famous Del Mar Ractrack infield and grandstand.  The place was electric.  We're guessing 15,000 people were there. Switchfoot Bassist, Tim Foreman always loves the energy of his hometown crowd, but admitted he was not overwhelmed.  "We played for 250,000 under the St. Louis Arch, that was freaky" he said.

StandUp for Kids needs your help. click 4 pix.Saturday was the official Bro-Am, with the surf contest, the Bro-Junior, free concerts on the beach and a well stocked vendor village.  

The Bro-Am continues to amaze us.   Hands on philanthropy is the best kind.  As Switchfoot has blown up to become certified ROCK STARS the boys in the band have not forgotten their roots.   STANDUP for KIDS helps homeless and at-risk kids...right here and RIGHT NOW.  In Oceanside and San Diego and in 23 other communities in the United States, kids get help.  These are not kids you see on a poster or in a fund-raising video..they are kids that are standing right in front of you.   Every STANDUP for KIDS story is different, but many include abusive parents and bogus foster homes.  It's unimaginable and terribly unfortunate situations that leave many 13-18 year old kids without a home. Teens fending for themselves.  These not quite adults need friends, they need mentors, they need clothes, they need a place to stay, sometimes they need a hot meal and they need BRO's  The guys from Switchfoot... don't just shred on stage, or on the waves they actually meet the local kids from Standup for Kids.  They give them advice and share their time.  It's very hands on, and it's successful.  StandUp for Kids has many stories that have positive outcomes. 

The community that surrounds Bro-Am is tight.  The rockers, the surfers, the volunteers, the donors, the StandUp Kids,  the Encinitas groms, the fans,  the sponsors...the list goes on and on.   Over $200,000 was raised at this year's Bro-Am.  All that cash goes directly to StandUp for Kids, and to homeless kids who really need it. 

That's the most BRO thing I know.

Bro Junior finalists about to paddle out at D Street in Encinitas. Swithcfoot at the San diego County Fair in Del Mar. It was a BIG weekend. Click 4 pix.

Rob Machado with Jon Foreman and Drew Shirley of Switchfoot went BIG to honor StandUp for Kids.Switchfoot played an intimate show at the Bro-Am soiree in Rancho Santa Fe. click 4 pix.