The inaugural event, called A Great Day in the Stoke, was designed to create a safe space for Black surfers to connect and compete, recognize and award leaders in the community, provide free surf lessons, and capture a group photo similar to "A Great Day in Harlem" (1958) and "A Great Day in Hip-Hop" (1998).
A Great Day in the Stoke was intended to inspire the Black community to feel welcome in the water and to experience and share the joy of surfing the waves safely as well as paying homage to veteran Black surfers who have been surfing since the 1950s.