Community News

The Hermosa Beach Firefighters Association, a non profit organization, will be hosting its 4th annual casino night event on Saturday October 13th at the American Junkie Restaurant (formerly Sangria) 68 Pier Avenue, Hermosa Beach. The evening features a silent auction which will surely turn up the heat along with hors d’oeuvres and a no-host bar and in between rolls of the dice you can burn up the dance floor to DJ spun tunes.The poker tournament begins at 4:30pm and includes prizes for the final 10 players.  Poker seat price: $95 Casino Night Price: $45 (single), $85 (couple) All proceeds from the event go to the HBFA, a non-profit organization. HBFA’s primary objective and purpose is to benefit charitable and educational organizations throughout the South Bay. Details and tickets visite www.hbfirefighters.org/events

The 40th Annual Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair is being held on October 6-7, 2012. The popularity of the fair is explained by the fact that it attracts everyone under the sun, from families and art lovers, to free speech advovates and fair food fanatics, and those that would rather hang out in the South Bay’s favorite Beer Garden. The Fair is fun for all ages. Great fair food, beautiful arts & crafts from hand selected vendors, free entertainment on our Main Stage and South Stage, games for kids of all ages and of course, the Kids Country are just some of the venues available for visitors. It really is a hometown event and has mangaged to showcase it’s community feel every year in large part because this event is 100% put together and executed by a group of volunteers. Check out the event detaisl at www.MBFair.org

Come join us for the 35th Annual Manhattan Beach Hometown 10K, on Saturday, October 6, 2012. 4,000 runners will take to the streets for this moderate to slightly difficult course through downtown and residential Manhattan Beach, finishing at the Manhattan Beach pier. Profits go to local schools, fitness-related recreation projects and college scholarships. Family teams exist in the following categories: Brother-Brother, Brother-Sister, Sister-Sister, Mother-Daughter, Mother-Son, Father-Daughter, Father-Son (Sorry, no spousal teams) Teammates need not run together. Medals will be awarded to the top 10 combined running times in each category. Online registration is now closed and only walk in registration is available at the Redondo Beach Village Runner Manhattan Beach. Proceeds from the event are returned to the community in the form of scholarships to high school seniors living in Manhattan Beach and to various enhancements to the recreation facilities of local schools and parks. Over the years, the Hometown 10k has made donations back to the community in excess of $250,000!

The 2nd Annual South Bay Art Auction is coming to the Shade Hotel on October 25th. You’re invited to an exclusive opportunity to purchase genuine, original art from local and renowned artists while also supporting the arts in Redondo Schools. Early bird discounted tickets are on sale now through October 11th. All proceeds will benefit the Redondo Beach Educational Foundation to provide inspiring arts experiences for Redondo Beach students. RBEF plans to send every 2nd & 3rd grader in the Redondo Beach Unified School District – approximately 1,400 children – to LACMA with the event proceeds. Tickets are on sale now at http://art90266.org and the early-bird price has just been extended.

Starting Monday, Oct. 2, some of Spain’s most sought-after flamenco gitano performers will come to Redondo Beach’s Performing Arts Center for Festival Flamenco Gitano USA 2012. The four-day event serves to celebrate the rich legacy of Spanish Gypsy music and dance and its essential role in flamenco’s evolution. Festival-goers will experience flamenco at its most grassroots form, with performances from multigenerational groups of dancers and musicians, including La Farruca the living matriarch of the Farruco family – the first family of gypsy flamenco dance- and her son, El Carpeta, the 14-year old Flamenco prodigy. Festival Flamenco Gitano USA 2012 runs Oct. 1 through Oct. 4 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. For ticket info, see .kalakoa.com.

Are you ready for some football?

A Los Angeles City Council committee gave a tentative blessing today to construction of a $1.1-billion NFL Stadium downtown and an estimated $315-million convention center hall, despite some concerns over the pending sale of development company AEG. With a little luck and some deep pockets, the NFL will be playing in a dazzling new stadium in Los Angeles in 2016. The agreement includes a community benefits package that requires AEG to provide money for job training and streetscape improvements. It also has a local-hire component intended to offer jobs to workers in communities adjacent to the stadium that suffer from high unemployment rates. The green light for the 76,000-seat stadium hinges on AEG’s ability to secure a football team to move to Los Angeles. This decision clears way for Los Angeles to pursue a franchise in earnest and gives AEG the full ability to go get a team.

South Bay residents will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness Space Shuttle Endeavour in its final moments of flight Friday morning as the shuttle, attached to a modified Boeing 747, will fly over multiple Los Angeles landmarks before touching down at LAX. The flight will dip to 1,500 feet to give the public a better view of the shuttle as it passes over famous landmarks. The California Science Center said that the public can expect to see the shuttle in Los Angeles air space starting around 10:30 a.m., weather permitting. Escorted by F-16 aircraft, the shuttle is then expected to land between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on one of Los Angeles International Airport’s south runways. Police also said the public can view the shuttle landing from the 700 block of West Imperial Avenue and the “greenbelt,” located at the intersection of Imperial Avenue and California Street in El Segundo.

According to the FAA and the California Science Center, the following Los Angeles landmarks will see a fly over by Space Shuttle Endeavour if conditions permit. For viewing locations and parking information, the science center recommends the public contact each venue for specific details. Check out the detials: Click Here

Craft beer lovers can rejoice this week as the annual L.A. Beer Week kicks into high gear Thursday and continues for a full 10 days throughout the South Bay and the Southland. Hundreds of events are planned throughout Los Angeles during the celebration including tap takeovers, rare beer releases, beer schools, beer dinners, meet the brewer nights and even a beer float ice cream social. The annual celebration of all things beer aims to raise awareness of and help evolve the craft beer industry in Los Angeles

For those living in the beach cities, here is a look at what events are happening in the South Bay:

9/20
Locals Night Naja’s Place, Redondo Beach 8:00 p.m. Naja’s will feature a variety of local breweries including Strand Brewing Co., Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, The Bruery and Cismontane, to name a few. Local Torrance brewers Joel and Rich from Strand Brewing will be on hand behind the bar.
Pre-Prohibition Pint Night Featuring Batch 19 BREWCO, Manhattan Beach BREWCO will feature an authentic, pre-prohibition beer known as Batch 19 for $5 per pint.

9/21
Ballast Point Night Select Beer Store, Redondo Beach 5:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. Select Beer will feature some of Ballast Point’s specialty beers. Glassware from Ballast Point will also be available.
Dogfish Head Night Naja’s Place, Redondo Beach 8:00 p.m. Delaware’s Dogfish Head brewery will feature some of their rarest beers on tap including the highly sought after 120 Minute IPA. Arrive early as last year, the rarest beers went quickly.

9/22
South Bay Brewery Shuttle Bus El Segundo Brewing Co., El Segundo 1:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. El Segundo Brewing will offer a brewery shuttle bus that will run a continuous loop to breweries in the South Bay. Stops include Beachwood BBQ and Brewing, Monkish Brewing and The Brewery at Abigaile. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at http://southbaybreweryshuttlebus.bpt.me

9/23
South Bay Tap Takeover and Pie Select Beer Store, Redondo Beach Noon – 8:00 p.m. All 12 taps at the store will feature local South Bay breweries including El Segundo Brewing, Monkish Brewing, Smog City Brewing and Strand Brewing. I Heart Pies will also be on hand serving up baked pies to pair with the beers.

9/24
So You STILL Want to Open a Brewery in L.A. Rock & Brews, El Segundo 7:00 p.m. Local professional brewers will talk about their experiences opening breweries in the Los Angeles area. Tomm Carroll from The Celebrator Beer News will moderate the discussion.
BREWCO Celebrates Oktoberfest with Hangar 24 BREWCO, Manhattan Beach Along with German soft pretzels and bratwurst, BREWCO will feature some of Hangar 24’s German-style beers including 4th Anniversary Dopplestick Alt Ale, Oktoberfest, Alt-Bier Ale and Helles Lager.

9/25
Figueroa Mountain Brewery Night Select Beer Store, Redondo Beach 5:00 p.m. – midnight Santa Barbara County’s Figueroa Mountain Brewery will feature their beers on tap including Hoppy Poppy IPA, Paradise Road Pilsner and their Danish Red Lager.

9/26
Firestone Walker Brewing Company Pint Night BREWCO, Manhattan Beach A representative from the brewery will be on hand to guide guests through a list of Firestone’s beers including Oaktoberfest, Wookey Jack, Double Jack IPA and Double DBA.
Sierra Nevada Night Naja’s Place, Redondo Beach 8:00 p.m. Naja’s will feature Chico’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and some of their rare beers may make an appearance.

9/27
Taste of Sonoma Night Featuring Lagunitas Brewing BREWCO, Manhattan Beach Meet Lagunitas representatives and try some of their beers including Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, Maximus IIPA, Fusion 10 and cellar-aged GnarlyWine.

9/28
Green Flash and St. Feuillien Are Friends Select Beer Store, Redondo Beach 5:00 p.m. – Midnight Beer collaborations between San Diego County’s Green Flash Brewing and Belgium’s St. Feuillien will be featuring including Friendship Black Saison and Biere D’Amitie. Other beers on tap will include Park West Porter, West Coast IPA, Blanche and Triple.

For a complete list of L.A. Beer Week events throughout Los Angeles and the Southland, visit the official beer week website at www.labeerweek.com

The Third Annual Rat Beach Bike Tour will be held on Saturday, September 22, 2012.  There are three great rides to choose from, a Metric Century (62 miles), Metric Half Century (31 Miles) and a Metric Quarter Century (15.5 miles), starting from our new location at Seaside Lagoon in Redondo Beach. Yes, you read it right; The Rat Beach Bike Tour is moving it start/finish location due to its popularity and increasing ridership.  This year the RAT RIDE is partnering with the Redondo Beach Lobster Fest.  This means the START/FINISH will be moved to the same location as the Lobster Fest. The new Start/Finish is at the Seaside Lagoon next to King Harbor, just north of the Redondo Beach Pier, 200 Portofino Way, Redondo Beach, CA – 90277 (At the corner of Harbor Drive and Beryl Street).   The biggest change to the Rat Ride is all of our riders will be admitted into the Lobster Fest for lunch and a huge PARTY at the end of our ride. More Information visit the event website www.ratbeachbiketour.com/

One of the top events of the year in Redondo Beach is the Lobster Festival, sponsored by the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce. It is three days of eating, dancing and drinking in the Seaside Lagoon Park at ocean-side, which will be taking place next weekend, September  23-25, 2011. There will be fresh Maine lobster dinners, or Certified Angus Beef New York Strip Steak and Main Lobster Tail dinners, plus other international food booths, serving cobblers, corn, BBQ, Chinese and just about anything else. You won’t go hungry if you bring your money. The entertainment is as good as the food with live music from some of the best Tribute Bands in Southern California. There is a dance floor, children’s area, beer garden, super shark slide and arcade-style games with prizes. And my favorite, the free mechanical bull ride will be bucking all weekend. In addition to fresh, steamed lobster, visitors to the festival can visit a variety of arts and crafts booths selling cool beach items. An admission fee allows you to enter the festival without purchasing lobster meals so you can enjoy the live music, shows, entertainment, vendors, and seaside location overlooking the Redondo Beach Harbor. For all the details, tickets and entertainment schedule visit the website www.LobsterFestival.com