Sessions Surf Festival is a multi-venue surf-culture festival running September 12–19, 2026, in Encinitas, Solana Beach and Carlsbad. Its opening music day and September 13 Seaside Reef surf contests have concluded, while the festival remains active: the free Art Session is open at Hotwater Gallery in Carlsbad from noon–5:00 PM daily through September 19, and three Film Sessions run September 17–19 from 5:30–10:00 PM at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas. Thursday features In Pieces Together, Unmakeable and Kinder with filmmaker/athlete panels and live music by MT Warning. Friday’s Shelter 25-Year Reunion, Blue Sunshine and Silent Sound program is sold out. Saturday features ProCasual, Maps to Nowhere: In the Current, HUCK 2 and Problematic with panels. Thursday and Saturday general admission remains available for $30 plus a $2.64 SimpleTix fee ($32.64 total at verification). The completed Surf Session included the Countdown Cup men’s and women’s multi-board-format contest, a firefighter/lifeguard team event, a free 13-and-under Gromathon, live music and awards. No remaining athlete registration is advertised. Film-ticket capacity, refund, age/guardian, ID, bag, accessibility and re-entry policies are not published; contact the organizer before travel when any of those details matter. The official Surf Session subpage still labels its September 13 header as 2025, while the current festival overview, ticket inventory and active organizer social posts establish the 2026 festival dates; that stale subpage year is retained here as a source discrepancy rather than silently corrected.

Sessions Surf Festival

The completed Gromathon was open to surfers age 13 and under using soft-top boards. Countdown Cup and team-event eligibility details are no longer published as an open registration flow.

The September 13 surf contests are complete. Organizer social recaps the Surf Session and Gromathon, but no complete official heat sheets, placements or podium results were published at verification.

Upcoming Sessions Surf Festival — sixth annual Encinitas festival Events

Sessions Surf Festival 2026 — Encinitas