What a weekend.

In the years I’ve covered the U.S. Open of Surfing, I have never seen it this busy and exciting on opening weekend.

It could have been the weekend of the finals, with people so jammed packed in the festival area that it became dusty from all the foot traffic along the booths set up in the sand. Folks clutched free swag from a beef jerky booth, and brands like PacSun had games going and were marking up the bodies of girls strutting around in bikinis.

CHECK OUT SOME OF THE WILD AND FUN SCENE AT US OPEN:

The U.S. Open of Surfing: The weird came out early this year. Click on photos for more

And many of the booths had yet to be opened – I can’t imagine what next weekend will be like.

The new freshness of this event, I think, comes from the big lifestyle brands taking it over – Nike 6.0 along with Hurley, Converse and Nike.

It’s cool again to come down and be a part of the scene, and they’re reaching the new generation of U.S. Open-goers via social media in a big way, with interactive things that draw them in for the opportunity to win free stuff, or to do something unique like take a photo and have it displayed on a big screen.

And the surfing is exciting. While the juniors used to be not so exciting to watch, they are now arguably almost as good as the pros, doing the next hot aerial moves. You never know if  who you’re watching will become the next hot guy on the WQS in the next few years.  These young names are bigger than ever – as seen by the massive ads of San Clemente’s Kolohe Andino, a junior also surfing in the men’s division.

Five O.C. Juniors made it into the quarterfinals coming up later today: Kolohe Andino, Colin Moran, Andrew Doheny, Luke Davis and Christian Saenz.

Santa Ana’s Courtney Conlogue kicked off the action Monday, the first of the women to compete. She won her heat with scores of 7.93 and a 5.83, and is hoping to win again like she did in 2009.  This is the last stop for the women’s World Tour.

“I’m just taking it heat by heat right now, and focusing on improving my surfing. This heat was a good warm up. The waves were a bit inconsistent, but all in all it was a pretty good heat,” she said.

Conditions have cleaned up a bit this morning. The live webcast is up and running, check it out here.

The men’s action with the big-name surfers starts Tuesday – and it should be interesting as San Clemente brothers Tanner and Patrick Gudauskas go up against one another in their afternoon heat.

If you want to come down for a glimpse but don’t want to deal with the madness, I’d suggest the next few days before the big bands – Jimmy Eat World, the Sound and MGMT – start coming to town on Thursday.

But if you want to be part of the scene, there’s a ton to check out the next seven days. Bring sunscreen.

CHECK OUT MORE STORIES FROM THE U.S OPEN OF SURFING:

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