Dave Rastovich : photo Terry Kavanagh

GSI Noosa Festival of Surfing 2008

Noosa, Queensland
3 - 9 March 2008

Rasta Shepherds Noosa Flock!

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 18 February, 2008 : - - International professional free surfer, ocean activist, film maker and musician Dave Rastovich has his eyes on the Global Surf Industries Noosa Festival of Surfing but his heart will be translating a serious message amongst the ‘Aloha’ spirit associated with the week long event.

As patron for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and a passionate campaigner for the termination of whaling and dolphin slaughter, his experience, wisdom and knowledge combined with a natural gift for communicating keep him in constant demand by an increasingly aware and concerned public.

Rastovich will be a busy guest in Noosa come the first week of March, but has already managed to road test the waves of Noosa National Park during a recent swell that battered Queensland beaches causing major erosion along the south east coast.

“It was great to sneak a few fun waves in at Granite Bay; it’s easy to see where the ocean has placed a lot of the eroded sand from the open beaches. The walk through the Noosa National Park is an added bonus, its simply beautiful and a true soul booster”, said Rastovich.

The smooth surfing natural foot will deliver a keynote address and preview his latest film ‘Minds In The Water’ at the Tropicsurf Summit held in conjunction with the Festival, “I am looking forward to presenting the film, it’s something we are really proud of and is a great illustration of what we are about”, said Rasta.

On Saturday night Rasta will headline the Major Music Concert when ‘Band of Frequencies’ joins The Vasco Era, Pico, with special guest Tom Curren (tickets $12 – booking & more info on website).

“To be honest, I can’t wait to play and it would be a real buzz to have a jam with Curren and Pico, who knows maybe Kelly (Slater) will join in too if he is around”, said Dave.

Rastovich won’t be flying the Sea Shepherd flag solo throughout the week either, Kristine Vasic (Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Director of Events and Media Relations) and Jonny Vasic (Sea Shepherd Conservation Society International Director) will be on hand and also attending the Tropicsurf Summit.

“We are very excited about the Noosa Festival of Surfing for a number of reasons – Surfers in general tend to care about and support ocean issues but Noosa will give us the opportunity to broaden our reach and spotlight recent events that many in the wider community might not have heard about,” said Kristine.

Whilst Sea Shepherd is currently forging full steam ahead with its anti-whaling campaign in the Great Southern Ocean Captain Paul Watson won’t be able visit to Noosa this year, “We had hoped Captain Watson would be able to attend, but thankfully he will instead be able to take our ship back down south to continue to defend the great whales from the illegal whaling activities through the month of March,” said Vasic.

The Global Surf Industries Noosa Festival of Surfing is a rare find on the Australian surfing calendar - it celebrates the surfing lifestyle, encourages participation across all disciplines, attracts world champions such as Kelly Slater, Layne Beachley, Mark Richards, current ASP WCT World Champions Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore, Tom Curren and more whilst appealing to a diverse demographic from under 18 yr olds right through to the over 65 invitational surfers such as Doug Warbrick (Founder Rip Curl International).

Previous reports:
# 1 : Oz stars Emma Snowsill and Craig Walton hit GSI Noosa
# 2 : GSI Noosa Fest of Surfing honors 'Bustin Down the Door'
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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Darren Landers
Media Manager | Noosa Festival of Surfing
darren@freshlogicmedia.com.au

Garth Prowd OAM
Managing Director | USM Events
gp@usmevents.com.au

Georgie Hannon
Event Management | USM Events
georgie@usmevents.com.au

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