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A Big Art Walk, Free Pier Music, and a Few Easy Summer Plans
What’s happening around the South Bay, August 20 - August 26
Jaime J
August 20, 2026
Hey South Bay,
We’re at that point in August where things usually start to calm down a little, but the calendar had other ideas.
This week has a little bit of everything, including an old-fashioned parking lot treasure hunt if you’re willing to get up early. Worth a scroll before the weekend sneaks up on you.
Here’s what’s going on 👇
This Week in My South Bay
Thursday, August 20
🎶 Summer of Music: Supersonic LA @ Redondo Beach Pier
Friday, August 21
📚 Little Fish Tales by the Sea @ Point Vicente Interpretive Center, Rancho Palos Verdes
🎭 Short Play Festival @ Little Fish Theatre, Redondo Beach
🎸 The Halloween Jack @ Deep End Live, Redondo Beach
Saturday, August 22
🛍️ West High Swap Meet @ West High School, Torrance
🎨 El Segundo Art Walk @ Downtown El Segundo
🛍️ Riviera Village Sidewalk Sale @ Riviera Village, Redondo Beach
🎶 Summer Concert in the Park: Pulp Vixen @ Ken Dyda Civic Center, Rancho Palos Verdes
🍷 Hot Summer Night Music Festival @ Ken Miller Recreation Center, Torrance
🎸 Summer of Music: CC Stugino @ Redondo Beach Pier
🎤 Yuki Saori in Los Angeles @ Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, Redondo Beach
Sunday, August 23
🎶 Concerts in the Park: The Police Academy @ Polliwog Park, Manhattan Beach
🎹 Boogie, Blues, Rags & Swing @ Old Town Music Hall, El Segundo
Looking Ahead: Labor Day
🧡 Volunteer at Fiesta Hermosa @ Hermosa Beach, Sept 5-7
🎶 Summer of Music: Supersonic LA
📍 Redondo Beach Pier
🕒 Thursday, August 20 | 6 PM-8 PM
💰 Free
Redondo Pier starts the issue with an easy Thursday night by the water. Supersonic LA brings the Oasis tribute lane, which feels like a good fit for a sunset pier crowd. Bring a layer, keep dinner nearby in mind, and let this one be simple.
🔹 Free pier concert
🔹 Oasis tribute band
🔹 Weather permitting
📚 Little Fish Tales by the Sea
📍 Point Vicente Interpretive Center, Rancho Palos Verdes
🕒 Friday, August 21 | 10:30 AM-11:30 AM
💰 Free
This is a small one, but useful for parents with little kids. Rancho Palos Verdes is hosting a free storytime and craft morning at Point Vicente, which is a pretty good setting for a low-key Friday outing. If you have younger kids at home, this is the gentle daytime pick.
🔹 Free storytime and crafts
🔹 Point Vicente setting
🔹 Best for younger kids and caregivers
🎭 Pick of the Vine: An Unexpected Guest
📍 Little Fish Theatre, 514 N. Prospect Ave., Ste. L-1, Redondo Beach
🕒 Fri-Sun, August 21-23 | Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 2:30 PM
💰 Ticketed
Little Fish Theatre’s annual short play festival is back with seven new works built around this year’s theme: An Unexpected Guest. The lineup includes comedies, surprises, and smaller stories built for an intimate local stage. The full run goes through September 6, but opening weekend starts here.
🔹 Seven original short plays
🔹 Opening weekend in Redondo Beach
🔹 Full run continues through September 6
🎸 The Halloween Jack
📍 Deep End Live, 100 Fisherman’s Wharf, Redondo Beach
🕒 Friday, August 21 | Doors 7 PM, Show 8 PM
💰 Ticketed
Deep End Live has the rock pick of the week on Friday night. The Halloween Jack features members tied to Jane’s Addiction, Guns N’ Roses, Garbage, and Alice Cooper, with The Bourbon Saints opening the night. It is 21+, ticketed, and right on the Redondo Pier, so plan a little extra time for weekend parking.
🔹 Members tied to major rock bands
🔹 The Bourbon Saints open the night
🔹 21+ venue on the Redondo Pier
🛍️ West High Swap Meet
📍 West High School parking lot, Torrance
🕒 Saturday, August 22 | 7 AM-12 PM
💰 Free
West High’s monthly swap meet is back Saturday morning with antiques, collectibles, household items, tools, toys, sports equipment, and whatever else turns up in the parking lot. It is an easy early stop if you like a treasure hunt more than a polished shopping event. Proceeds support the West High softball team, which makes it a nice local school-community pick too.
🔹 Free admission
🔹 Monthly swap meet and treasure hunt
🔹 Supports West High softball
🎨 El Segundo Art Walk
📍 Downtown El Segundo
🕒 Saturday, August 22 | 3 PM-9 PM
💰 Free
This is probably the main event of the week. El Segundo opens up for an afternoon and evening of local art, studio stops, creative spaces, and downtown wandering. Give yourself time, grab dinner nearby, and let the night unfold a little.
🔹 Free self-guided art walk
🔹 Downtown El Segundo and creative spaces
🔹 Good dinner-before-or-after setup
🛍️ Riviera Village Sidewalk Sale
📍 Riviera Village, Redondo Beach
🕒 Sat-Sun, August 22-23 | 10 AM-5 PM
💰 Free
Riviera Village is keeping things casual with a weekend sidewalk sale. This is more of a stroll-and-see-what-you-find plan than a big production, which feels right for late August. Go for the shops, stay for lunch, and maybe time it with a beach walk.
🔹 Two-day neighborhood shopping event
🔹 Saturday and Sunday in Riviera Village
🔹 Easy to pair with lunch or the farmers market
🎶 Summer Concert in the Park: Pulp Vixen
📍 Ken Dyda Civic Center, 30940 Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes
🕒 Saturday, August 22 | 4 PM-6 PM
💰 Free
Rancho Palos Verdes has a solid Saturday afternoon option if you want music without heading into a packed beach-city crowd. Pulp Vixen is playing top 40 hits, and the city is bringing in food trucks, a beer and wine booth, giveaways, crafts, inflatables for kids, and live music. Bring beach chairs or a blanket and make it an easy afternoon outside.
🔹 Free outdoor concert
🔹 Food trucks, beer and wine booth listed
🔹 Bring beach chairs or a blanket
🍷 Hot Summer Night Music Festival
📍 Ken Miller Recreation Center, Torrance
🕒 Saturday, August 22 | 5 PM-9 PM
💰 Ticketed
This one is the grown-up Saturday night lane. The South Bay Sunrise Rotary Club is putting on a fundraiser with Andy & Renee, Hard Rain, guest performances, and food and drinks on site. It is 21+, so this is more date-night or friends-night than family outing.
🔹 21+ fundraiser concert
🔹 Andy & Renee, Hard Rain, and guest performances
🔹 Food and drinks available on site
🎸 Summer of Music: CC Stugino
📍 Redondo Beach Pier
🕒 Saturday, August 22 | 6 PM-8 PM
💰 Free
If Thursday does not work, Redondo Pier has another easy concert on Saturday. CC Stugino brings blues rock to the pier, which is a nice fit if you want something casual after the beach or before dinner. It is free, outdoors, and right on the water.
🔹 Free Saturday pier concert
🔹 Blues rock lineup
🔹 Good pre-dinner Redondo plan
🎤 Yuki Saori in Los Angeles
📍 Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach
🕒 Saturday, August 22 | Doors 3 PM, Show 4 PM
💰 Ticketed
Yuki Saori, one of Japan’s most celebrated vocalists, is coming to Redondo Beach for a rare one-night performance. She is known internationally for her collaboration with Pink Martini, and this show marks her first U.S. concert in about nine years. It is a little different from the usual South Bay weekend lineup, which is exactly why it is worth knowing about.
🔹 One-night Redondo Beach performance
🔹 Internationally known Japanese vocalist
🔹 First U.S. concert in about nine years
🎶 Concerts in the Park: The Police Academy
📍 Polliwog Park Amphitheater, Manhattan Beach
🕒 Sunday, August 23 | 5 PM-7 PM
💰 Free
Manhattan Beach keeps the Sunday concert habit going with The Police Academy at Polliwog Park. The band recreates the sound and look of The Police, moving from the early punk-leaning songs to the bigger, synthier hits from later in the catalog. Bring a blanket, pack dinner, and get there a little early if you care about your spot.
🔹 Free Sunday concert
🔹 The Police tribute band
🔹 Bring blankets, lawn chairs, and a picnic
🎹 Boogie, Blues, Rags & Swing
📍 Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St, El Segundo
🕒 Sunday, August 23 | 2 PM
💰 Ticketed
Old Town Music Hall has a good Sunday afternoon option for anyone who likes the old-school stuff done well. Piano virtuoso Carl Sonny Leyland returns with bassist Sam Rocha and drummer Danny Coots for a set of boogie, blues, rags, stride, early jazz, and swing. It is the kind of show that fits the room perfectly: historic theater, big piano energy, and musicians who know how to have fun.
🔹 Live boogie, blues, ragtime, early jazz, and swing
🔹 Carl Sonny Leyland with Sam Rocha and Danny Coots
🔹 Old Town Music Hall afternoon concert
🧡 Volunteer at Fiesta Hermosa
📍 Downtown Hermosa Beach, along Pier Ave
🕒 Labor Day weekend, September 5–7
💰 Free to join in
The Hermosa Beach Chamber is looking for volunteers to help make Fiesta Hermosa happen this Labor Day weekend. Whether you have done it before or it is your first time, it is an easy way to be part of the South Bay's biggest street festival from the inside. Volunteers also get an invite to the Chamber's Volunteer Appreciation Party as a thank you.
🔹 Help run the South Bay's biggest Labor Day festival
🔹 Meet people and connect with the community
🔹 Invite to the exclusive Volunteer Appreciation Party
South Bay Snapshot 📸
Not a bad view for running errands.
That’s it for this week!
This is the part of summer where the calendar starts sharing space with school nights, earlier alarms, and the feeling that everyone is trying to squeeze in one more easy plan.
If you have a friend who keeps saying summer went too fast, send them this newsletter.
See you out there,
Jaime
@MySouthBay
How are you feeling as summer winds down? |