Un Mar de Colores · Solana Beach, CA
Partnerships with local galleries and museums amplify Solana Beach youth voices beyond the beach.
Un Mar de Colores's Cultural Arts & Storytelling workshops center Indigenous, Latino, and Chicano voices of the California coast — and Solana Beach youth are welcome in every cohort. Quarterly workshops run throughout San Diego County in partnership with La Colonia de Eden Gardens Community Center and Boys & Girls Club of Solana Beach, with summer artist residencies open to Solana Beach students via referral from Solana Beach School District. All supplies, instruction, and exhibition opportunities are provided at no cost.
Quarterly workshops + summer artist residencies · Completely free
Solana Beach's Fletcher Cove is one of North County's safest lifeguarded swim-and-surf beaches, making it ideal for our One Ocean Scholarship cohorts. We partner with Solana Beach School District and the San Dieguito Union High School District for youth recruitment, with a focus on inland neighborhoods east of I-5 where coastal access is geographically close but economically out of reach.
All ages cultural arts welcome grandparents and young children from Solana Beach — intergenerational oral tradition sessions preserve family coastal memory.
Looking for free art workshops for kids in Solana Beach? Every session includes supplies, bilingual instruction, guest artists, and pathways to public exhibition — commercial youth art classes often charge $30–$80 per session.
Environmental justice in Solana Beach isn't abstract: watershed health, beach closures, and plastic pollution affect the same communities we serve. Our programs connect surf skills to stewardship of San Diego's coastline.
Parents in Solana Beach often ask how a nonprofit can offer everything free. Answer: San Diego Foundation grants, community donors, and partners who believe Solana Beach youth belong in the lineup — same as any other kid in San Diego.
Primary Solana Beach teaching location. One of North County's safest lifeguarded swim-and-surf beaches.
Fletcher Cove was opened in 1946 after dynamite was used to blast through the sandstone bluffs — creating the only public beach access in Solana Beach.
In partnership with Solana Beach School District and local community organizations, we recruit youth from 2+ Title I schools.
Cultural Arts & Storytelling at Un Mar de Colores is where the surf, the coast, and community narrative meet. Quarterly workshops and summer artist residencies bring together youth, professional artists, and Kumeyaay elders to create work that reflects the living cultural traditions of the California coast. Programs center Indigenous, Latino, and Chicano voices historically marginalized in coastal culture, and every workshop ends with a public exhibition, publication, or film screening that returns the art to the community that made it.
Since 2018, Un Mar de Colores has served thousands of youth across San Diego County and the Cali-Baja region — with funding from the San Diego Foundation, community grants, and individual donors keeping every program 100% free.
“"He used to approach new activities with extreme anxiety — to the point where sometimes we couldn't even get out of the car. Now he goes much deeper into the water."”
Kumeyaay elders participate in coastal storytelling and living culture modules alongside visual arts — elders as teachers, not symbols. Solana Beach Indigenous and Latino youth learn cultural depth commercial surf culture erases.
Yes — every workshop cycle aims toward public exhibition, publication, or film screening. Un Mar partners with local galleries and museums to return Solana Beach youth art to the community — not sell it to tourists.
Yes — film and documentary-making workshops include camera access and editing mentorship. Solana Beach teens document coastal stories, environmental justice, and neighborhood memory with professional guidance.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs in Solana Beach are 100% free — including 3/2mm wetsuits, soft-top surfboards, transportation from partner schools like Solana Vista Elementary, Skyline School, and certified bilingual instruction. Funding comes from the San Diego Foundation, community grants, and individual donors. No Solana Beach family has ever paid for our programming.
Primary water sessions run at Fletcher Cove. Classroom components happen at La Colonia de Eden Gardens Community Center and other partner sites. All water activities happen within lifeguard-flag zones.
We serve youth ages All ages. In Solana Beach specifically, our recruitment runs through Solana Beach School District — with priority enrollment for students from Solana Vista Elementary, Skyline School. Cohorts are age-appropriate (One Ocean for 6–12, Ocean Stewards for 13–17).
No. We begin every cohort with ocean-safety fundamentals in chest-deep whitewater at Fletcher Cove, supervised by instructors certified by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard Division. Water comfort is built progressively. In Solana Beach, we also run pre-cohort pool-familiarization sessions at local community pools for students who request extra comfort-building.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs are bilingual — and in Solana Beach, where 14% of households are Spanish-speaking, we intentionally pair at least one bilingual coach to every session. Cultural programming is delivered in both languages, and parent communications are always sent in Spanish and English.
Three ways: (1) everything is free, while most Solana Beach surf programs charge $50–$150 per lesson; (2) we are BIPOC-led and our coaches reflect the 24%-BIPOC Solana Beach community we serve; (3) our curriculum includes environmental justice, Kumeyaay coastal history, and cultural arts — not just surf skills. We exist because the ocean should belong to everyone in Solana Beach, not just those who can afford access.
Visit our sign-up page or contact us directly. Priority enrollment goes to students of Solana Vista Elementary, Skyline School and referrals from La Colonia de Eden Gardens Community Center and Boys & Girls Club of Solana Beach. Summer cohorts fill 3–4 weeks before start, so early contact is recommended.
Ready to get your child in the water? Contact Un Mar de Colores — priority enrollment for Solana Beach Title I school students.
All Un Mar de Colores programs are free for Solana Beach youth. Reach out to enroll, volunteer, or support the movement.
Un Mar de Colores is a BIPOC-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Oceanside, California. We provide free surf, ocean, and environmental programming for youth across San Diego and Tijuana — bridging cultures, coasts, and communities since 2018.
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