SANTA CRUZ >> There are many companies that call Santa Cruz home, one of which bears the name of its resident city. It is a brand whose name is represented by angular yellow letters amid a red circle backdrop that has adorned countless skateboards, beanies, hoodies and T-shirts around the world.

The brand is Santa Cruz Skateboards, a division of NHS Inc., which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year as a purveyor of skate culture in its namesake city and beyond. Saturday, the company will celebrate with a trio of skate sessions with big-name skaters at different parks and a free concert by legendary indie rockers Dinosaur Jr. at the Boardwalk.“It’s monumental,” said Andrew Cannon, Santa Cruz Skateboards’ brand manager, of the event. “I think it is going to be such a magical weekend with so much great history, so many good stories, so many amazing people.”

Cannon said the brand was started in 1973 by Richard Novak, Doug Haut and Jay Shuirman, three avid surfers who lived in Santa Cruz and had a goal of combining their passion with their work.

“They wanted to work as little as possible and surf as much as possible,” said Cannon.

Thus, the three friends founded a surfboard manufacturing company which they called NHS, the combined initials of their last names. The surfing business did not catch on right away, with sluggish sales, but a friend from Hawaii, Jimmy Hoffman, asked them if they could make 500 skateboards. Luckily, they had an excess of fiberglass. When the time came for a name, they chose to christen the skateboards after their hometown.

“They slapped the name on there, and they sent them to Hawaii,” said Cannon. “They literally sold out overnight.”

Santa Cruz Skateboards soon became one of the most iconic brands in skateboarding. The company produces decks, wheels and other skateboard accessories as well as a range of apparel for all ages as well as snowboarding and surfing equipment. In addition to its instantly recognizable brand logo, the company also has another iconic graphic in the form of its “Screaming Hand” logo, which was designed by Jim Phillips in 1985.

“Jim Phillips’ artwork is one of the most inspiring things for so many artists globally,” said Cannon.

Cannon said the company is one with a dedicated employee base.

“NHS is such an amazing company because people start working there, and they’re lifers because it’s such a great company to work for,” he said.

Saturday’s event is a collaboration with fellow local businesses KindPeoples Dispensary and Timeless Vapes. Ray Mate, Timeless’ cultural liaison, said he met Cannon through a golfer friend.

“One day, we were playing golf and we were going back and forth … and we were chatting about just doing something together, and he’s like ‘Hey, man, I think we should probably get together and do an event in Santa Cruz for the 50th anniversary since you do stuff with Ricky Powell, with Apex, with a lot of artists,’” he said. “This came up naturally and organically without us even trying.”

Mate grew up skating in New York in the late ‘80s, and Timeless became involved with skateboarding during the COVID-19 pandemic by having people submit videos of them performing their best tricks at skateparks. It even attracted the attention of professional skaters such as Chris Coulbourn and Ryan Gallant.

“It was a lot of top-notch East Coast pros,” said Mate. “It was just something we’ve never done before. From there, we thought since we’ve done things with skateboarding, we might as well try this because the art of what Jim Phillips has been doing over the years, his signature artwork has been part of Santa Cruz’s DNA.”

The festivities will kick off with a skating session 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Seacliff Skatepark, 120 Canterbury Drive, Aptos with tricks performed by the Santa Cruz team and special guests. Things will get even hairier 3-6 p.m. at Mike Fox Skate Park, 299 San Lorenzo Blvd., Santa Cruz, where skaters will be maneuvering through different obstacles, including a “high-air” obstacle provided by Timeless, which Cannon said is about as tall as a fence.

“I’ve been to stuff like that over my years of working at events,” he said. “The energy that happens in those moments is fully electric. To anyone out there who’s even questioning being there, you want to be there because it is going to be magical.”

The third and final session will be held 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Boardwalk, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz, where professional skaters will grind the park’s approximately 40-foot Mega Rail. The roster includes Steve Alba, Eric Dressen, Erick Winkowski, Emmanuel Guzman, Jake Wooten, Rob Pace, Fabiana Delfino, Kevin Braun, Blake Johnson, Justin Sommer, Nora Vasconcellos, Chris Cope, Yndiara Asp and many more. The skaters will also be on hand to autograph Santa Cruz Skateboards decks, which can be purchased at Threads. Attendees can also purchase Santa Cruz attire throughout the Boardwalk, including some with a custom Boardwalk design, and also take photos with a life-sized version of the Screaming Hand. Additionally, Timeless will host various giveaways and have an exclusive merchandise pack. The expo will take place near Entrance 5.

From 8-9 p.m. attendees can make their way to the main stage for a free concert by Dinosaur Jr. Formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, the post-punk band has had a cult following since releasing their debut album in 1987 and proved widely influential to the alternative rock scene of the ‘90s, including heavy-hitters such as Nirvana and Radiohead — for their first album, at least. Once they were signed to Sire Records in 1991, Dinosaur Jr. had their mainstream breakthrough, joining the Lollapalooza tour in 1993 and becoming a fixture on alternative stations and MTV’s “120 Minutes” through songs such as “Feel the Pain” and “Start Choppin’.”

Cannon said a few different artists were considered, and he was thrilled that Dinosaur Jr. agreed to perform.

“Dinosaur Jr. is so entrenched in skateboarding culture, from the old Santa Cruz videos to all the Alien Workshop videos,” he said. “They are synonymous with skateboarding, so it just made so much sense.”

Cannon believes the event will have a wide appeal for everyone from skaters to artists to music lovers.

“It’s truly going to be an event unlike anything Santa Cruz, the town, has ever seen,” he said.

For information, visit SantaCruzSkateboards.com or Beachboardwalk.com/nhs/.