Summer has finally arrived, folks, and Surfrider Chicago celebrated with Barefoot Wines at Montrose Beach on Saturday, May 31st. The Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project, now in its either year, helps keep beaches, rivers, parks and lakes across America “barefoot friendly.” Chicago was one of 15 stops across our great country this year and we had all the great makings for a perfect day: dedicated volunteers, beautiful sun-filled skies, a great after party featuring local band, Alewife, and delicious wine for those over the age of 21. Local SUP experts, Kayak Chicago, gave us the use of 5 SUP boards to also ensure it wasn’t just the sand that benefited from our efforts. Surfrider supporter, Jack Johnson, just happened to be in town that evening and graciously donated 2 free tickets to his show for some lucky volunteers!
From broken glass to car parts to cigarette butts, over 50 volunteers worked diligently to ensure that Montrose Beach and the surrounding areas were barefoot friendly. After all that hard work, volunteers were graciously rewarded with a celebration event at the Dock at Montrose Beach. Entertained for two hours by the surf-inspired music of Alewife (alewifemusic.com), folks enjoyed wine, bubbly and free appetizers courtesy of Barefoot Wines.
This was Chicago Surfrider’s fourth clean-up with Barefoot Wines and we certainly can’t wait until the fifth! For more information about the Surfrider and Barefoot partnership, please check out http://www.surfrider.org/partners/entry/barefoot-wine. Our next event will be the largest paddle-out Chicago has ever seen on Saturday, June 21st at Montrose Beach. Stay tuned for more information!
