The Sessions Surf Festival returns to Encinitas and Solana Beach for its sixth year, running Saturday, Sept. 12, through Sept. 19.

The week-long celebration of surf culture opens with a full day of live music at Seaside Reef in Solana Beach. Founder Taylor Steele, a Solana Beach native, told the San Diego Union-Tribune in August that expanded music programming marks the biggest change this year.

"Each year we just sort of kept adding stuff and making it bigger and bigger … The big jump this year is the music side of it," Steele said.

Opening day at Seaside Reef, 2504 S. Coast Highway 101, runs noon to 10 p.m. and features Osees, Unwritten Law, Bully, Yoke Lore, Mojave Rush, MT Warning, Jack Shields and Emily Afton. Tickets start at $85, according to the festival's listing in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

On Sunday, Sept. 13, the festival shifts to a Beach Day at Seaside Reef with the Count Down Cup, a surf competition with multiple divisions. An evening gathering follows the final heat with live music, food and drinks.

Artist showcases run Monday, Sept. 14, through Sept. 19 at the Outerknown Pop-Up Shop at Hansen Surfboards in Encinitas.

The week wraps up at La Paloma Theatre, 471 S. Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas, with three days of surf film screenings and panel discussions from Thursday, Sept. 17, through Sept. 19. Rob Machado, Shane Dorian and Taylor Knox are listed among participants for the La Paloma portion, according to the festival's ticketing page. Their specific roles have not been announced.

What started as the Solento Surf Festival, built around film screenings at La Paloma Theatre, has grown into a multi-venue event spanning two cities. Steele told the Union-Tribune in August that he schedules it in September on purpose, after the summer tourist crush, calling it "the locals' summer."

The full schedule and tickets are available on the festival's website.

Upcoming community events:

  • Saturday, Sept. 12: Sessions Surf Festival opening day, Seaside Reef, Solana Beach, noon–10 p.m. Tickets from $85.
  • Sunday, Sept. 13: Count Down Cup surf competition and Beach Day, Seaside Reef.
  • Sept. 14–19: Artist showcases, Outerknown Pop-Up Shop at Hansen Surfboards, Encinitas.
  • Sept. 17–19: Surf film screenings and panels, La Paloma Theatre, Encinitas.