Disposable: The Quik Fest Hossegor 2026

SurfMusicArt

Oct 1

*Miles Falcon and Coco Cairns on a good one.*

words and photos by isa darisay.

For the average person, a trip to another country usually requires a fair bit of thought and planning.

Those are two things that I had no time for when booking a flight to France on a couple days notice. Upon the invitation of my friends - and therefore by extension, me - to surf in the Quiksilver Surf Festival in Hossegor, there wasn’t really any option for a ‘no’ in this scenario. A couple days and hangovers in, I realized that no one average attends the Quik Fest.

For that week, Hossegor became the classic case of ‘sleepy beach town turned rage zone’. That stretch of sand along the southwest coast of France was alive with hundreds of spectators, pros, industry heads, photographers and anyone trying to have a good time. I was included in that last category.

Being the random Californian girl following her friends around the world, people were probably wondering why I was there. The answer is as simple as, ‘to observe’ (and just a cheap trip to France). Something that stood out to me about the Quik Fest that went beyond the scope of comparable other surf festivals I’ve been to is how much everyone actually wanted to be there. Maybe it was the drinks. Maybe it was the fact that the waves were pumping. Whatever it was, the athletes, free surfers, spectators, and partiers alike were all there with maximum energy. Every conversation was easy, people were excited, enthused and kind with one another.

Nothing and no one felt forced to be there. And everyone seemed grateful for an excuse to come together. My shitty point and shoot helped give a glimpse into what I observed.