Santa Barbara Surf Film Festival 2026 — Arlington Opening Day

About this event

Santa Barbara Surf Film Festival returns to the Arlington Theatre on Thursday, November 12, 2026 for a full ticketed opening day built around surf cinema, conservation, history and community. The program begins at 3:30 PM PST with the world premiere of Harvest to Heal by Jim Knowlton and Kim Selkoe, followed by a filmmaker Q&A. A ticket to either Arlington program is valid for both the 3:30 PM premiere and the 6:00 PM evening program. The evening opens with Haole Boy: The Surf Therapy Dog by Erik Eiser and To Love and Do Good by Maddie Kate. After intermission, the 7:30 PM block includes an exclusive first look at Creative Freedom: The John Bradbury Story, written and directed by Palmer Brown; presentation of the festival’s 2026 Legendary Award to three-time world champion and Santa Barbara native Tom Curren; a panel with Bud Trent, Tom Curren and Pete Townend; the feature Increments of Fear: The Buzzy Trent Story from the Bud Browne Film Archives; and Morgan Maassen’s closing short Rán: A Scandinavian Surfing Saga. The festival’s current first-party schedule art confirms this order. A Creative Freedom VIP afterparty at M.Special is advertised after the films; local event coverage lists 9:30 PM, while the festival does not publish a general-admission closing time. AXS currently exposes general tickets, accessible seating and a VIP offer. AXS labels the event All Ages and lists 5:00 PM doors for the 6:00 PM program. The festival’s current November 6 post advertises promo code WETWETTIE for a $20 flat-fee ticket and says in-person Arlington box-office purchases are cheaper. Exact standard face value without the code, taxes, service fees, remaining inventory and a sellout threshold are not exposed in the public listing. The VIP offer advertises a separate November 11 party, gift bag, early access and full-day programming; price and the exact relationship between that offer and the November 12 M.Special afterparty are not publicly clear. Do not assume either VIP gathering is included with a standard ticket. The Arlington is ADA accessible. Its current FAQ says the designated area has space for four wheelchairs and one companion seat and asks guests to arrange accommodations with the box office before the event; AXS also exposes accessible-seat purchasing. The festival prohibits oversized bags, outside food and drink, audio/video recording devices, lawn chairs, alcohol brought from outside, firearms, pets, smoking, skateboards, bicycles, scooters and skates. Venue concessions and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are available; guests must be 21 or older and show ID to buy alcohol. The theatre recommends paid lots because its small rear lot fills quickly and nearby street parking is generally limited to 75–90 minutes. City Lots 5 and 6 are named by the venue, and local MTD buses, the Amtrak station and the State Street Loop Shuttle serve the area. This is an indoor spectator event, not an athlete registration or surf session. Santa Barbara is roughly 95 road miles from central Los Angeles, inside TrickBook’s regional radius. The event is LA-relevant because it is a major Southern California surf-culture gathering with premieres, celebrated surfers and filmmakers, conservation programming and a historic surf-community venue. The broader festival continues November 13–14 in the Funk Zone, but this record represents the complete ticketed Arlington opening-day program only; separate later programming, venues and admission terms are not implied.

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