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Main Street Fair, Car Shows, and a Packed South Bay Weekend
What’s happening around the South Bay | September 24–30, 2026
Jaime J
September 24, 2026
Hey South Bay,
September's almost out of weekends, and this one's stacked. Saturday forces a choice: hometown fair, food and wine, or a big night in Manhattan Beach. Sunday's the exhale. Classic cars in the morning, a quiet nature walk if crowds aren't your thing.
Tuesday's got a surprise too.
Here’s what’s going on 👇
This Week in My South Bay
Friday, September 25
☕️ Coffee with the Mayor @ Yellow Vase, Golden Cove, Rancho Palos Verdes
🍺 Smogtoberfest Weekend 2 @ Smog City Torrance (Fri–Sun)
Saturday, September 26
🎪 El Segundo Main Street Fair @ Main Street, downtown El Segundo
🍹 Gardena Food, Wine & Brew Festival @ City Hall lawn, Gardena
🥂 Toast on the Coast @ Lower Malaga Cove, Palos Verdes Estates
🍻 King Harbor Oktoberfest @ King Harbor parking lot, Redondo Beach
🍷 Manhattan Beach Food & Wine Signature Night @ westdrift Manhattan Beach
🎸 KYŌWA: Nikyokan Wadaiko × UnitOne @ Armstrong Theatre, Torrance (8:00 PM)
Sunday, September 27
🦋 Hopkins Bio Blitz @ Hopkins Wilderness Park, Redondo Beach
🚗 Rods, Rides & Relics Classic Car Show @ Redondo Beach Pier
🚙 Downtown Manhattan Beach Car Show @ downtown Manhattan Beach
📷️ Downtown Torrance Antique Street Faire @ Old Torrance
🍻 King Harbor Oktoberfest (day 2) @ King Harbor parking lot, Redondo Beach
🎸 KYŌWA (day 2) @ Armstrong Theatre, Torrance (1:00 PM)
🌕️ Full Moon Silent Disco at Vista @ Vista, Hermosa Beach
Tuesday, September 29
🥧 Torrance World Famous Pie Contest @ Farmers Market, Wilson Park, Torrance
Wednesday, September 30
🧘 Free Yoga on the Pier @ west end of Redondo Pier
☕️ Coffee with the Mayor
📍 Yellow Vase, Golden Cove Shopping Center, 31248 Palos Verdes Drive West, Rancho Palos Verdes
🕒 Friday, September 25 | 10:00–11:00 AM
💰 Free
This is one of those peninsula mornings locals actually use. Drop in at Yellow Vase in Golden Cove and have coffee with Mayor Paul Seo. No agenda, no stage, just an easy hour. Bring something that's on your mind, or just meet the guy who runs city hall.
Free RPV mug while supplies last, so come early if you want one. Clean Friday start.
🔹 Drop in, no ticket needed
🔹 Free RPV mug while supplies last
🔹 No agenda, just coffee and conversation
🍺 Smogtoberfest Weekend 2
📍 Smog City Brewing, 1901 Del Amo Blvd, Torrance
🕒 Friday–Sunday, September 25–27
💰 Free
Smog City's Oktoberfest runs a second weekend at the Torrance brewery yard, and the schedule is the reason to go. Friday: Allman Jerry Band 6 to 9 PM with Gochu Gang. Saturday: wiener dog races at 1, contests 1:30 to 3, plus Towels and a DJ. Sunday: the yard stays open with the Bison Burger Truck.
Free to show up. Easy Torrance beer-garden hang.
🔹 Weekend 2, Friday through Sunday
🔹 Saturday's the big day: dogs, contests, music
🔹 Free to show up
🎪 El Segundo Main Street Fair
📍 Main Street, downtown El Segundo (eight blocks closed)
🕒 Saturday, September 26 | 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
💰 Free to walk (beer garden extra)
Year 34. The Kiwanis Main Street Fair still does what a real hometown fair should: shuts down eight blocks of downtown El Segundo and fills them with 180+ craft booths, food, and local stages. Free to walk the street.
Make it the whole day and keep it easy, or just wander for an hour. Either way, downtown El Segundo feels like a festival, not an errand run.
🔹 Free to walk the fair
🔹 180+ booths, food, and local stages
🔹 Beer garden is separate if you want that lane
🍹 Gardena Food, Wine & Brew Festival
📍 Gardena City Hall complex / lawn, 1700 W 162nd St, Gardena
🕒 Saturday, September 26 | 12:00–7:00 PM
💰 Ticketed (from $25)
Gardena's 16th annual Food, Wine & Brew Festival takes over the City Hall lawn. Tasting booths from local restaurants, wineries, and breweries, all afternoon on the grass. It's the inland tasting play, no drive to the coast, no fighting coastal parking.
Midday start, so your evening's still free.
🔹 16th year on the City Hall lawn
🔹 Local food, wine, and beer booths all afternoon
🔹 Ticketed, buy ahead
🥂 Toast on the Coast
📍 District field at Lower Malaga Cove, 300 Paseo del Mar, Palos Verdes Estates
🕒 Saturday, September 26 | 4:00–9:00 PM
💰 Ticketed
PEF's big peninsula party is back, and it moved. This year it's at the district field at Lower Malaga Cove. All-you-can-eat-and-drink, three live bands, and a Hill sunset. That's the whole pitch.
Online sales closed September 21, so it's door tickets or nothing. Shuttles run from both high schools starting at 3:30. Don't drive.
🔹 New spot: district field at Lower Malaga Cove
🔹 Juice Boxx Heroes, Shabingus, Saved by the 90s
🔹 Shuttles 3:30–9:30 from PVHS and Peninsula HS
🍻 King Harbor Oktoberfest
📍 King Harbor parking lot, ~207 N Harbor Dr (between Riviera Village & California Surf Club), Redondo Beach
🕒 Saturday–Sunday, September 26–27 | 12:00–7:00 PM
💰 Free entry
First-ever King Harbor Oktoberfest lands in the harbor parking lot with free entry both days. Think open-air harbor energy from noon to 7:00 PM. It's the kind of new Redondo plan that won't feel like every beer fest inland.
🔹 First year at the King Harbor parking lot
🔹 Free entry; noon–7 both days
🔹 Right on the water, easy afternoon
🍷 Manhattan Beach Food & Wine Signature Night
📍 westdrift Manhattan Beach, 1400 Parkview Ave, Manhattan Beach
🕒 Saturday, September 26 | 7:00–10:00 PM (Delta VIP 6:00 PM)
💰 Ticketed
Manhattan Beach Food & Wine's Signature Night is Saturday at the new westdrift venue. Chef tastings all evening, and Friday's Opening Night is already sold out. Saturday tickets were still up when we checked.
21 and over. Dress like you meant to be there.
🔹 Saturday only, Friday is sold out
🔹 Chef tastings at the new westdrift venue
🔹 21+, dress code is real
🎸 KYŌWA: Nikyokan Wadaiko × UnitOne
📍 James R. Armstrong Theatre, Torrance Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance
🕒 Saturday–Sunday, September 26–27 | Sat 8:00 PM / Sun 1:00 PM
💰 Ticketed ($35 / $40 / $45)
This is a real Japanese drum collaboration, not a tribute night. UnitOne from the US and Nikyokan from Argentina share the Armstrong Theatre stage for KYŌWA. Loud, physical, and nothing like background music.
If you want a last-minute check before locking plans, call the box office at (310) 781-7171.
🔹 US and Argentina taiko companies, one stage
🔹 Saturday night and Sunday matinee shows
🔹 Big sound, great indoor night out
🦋 Hopkins Bio Blitz!
📍 Hopkins Wilderness Park, Main Entrance, 1102 Camino Real, Redondo Beach
🕒 Sunday, September 27 | 10:00 AM
💰 Free (community event; sign up via QR on the SBPC flyer)
The South Bay Parkland Conservancy leads a guided nature walk through Hopkins Wilderness Park. You spot and log real species on iNaturalist, and you'll learn the names of things you walk past every day. Better than a Sunday doomscroll.
🔹 Guided walk, you log species on iNaturalist
🔹 Rain cancels, so check the sky
🔹 Bring your phone, that's the whole toolkit
🚗 21st Annual Rods, Rides & Relics Classic Car Show
📍 West end of Redondo Beach Pier / 100–500 Fisherman's Wharf, Redondo Beach
🕒 Sunday, September 27 | 10:00 AM–3:00 PM
💰 Free (cars invitation-only; weather permitting)
Classics parked over the water at the Redondo Pier car show. Invitation-only for the cars, weather permitting. It's a walk-the-pier, look-at-engines, grab-lunch-nearby kind of Sunday, and it still feels special the 21st time around.
🔹 100+ classics on the pier
🔹 Free for spectators
🔹 21st annual show
🚙 7th Annual Downtown Manhattan Beach Car Show
📍 Manhattan Beach Blvd (Ocean–Highland) and Manhattan Ave (9th–12th), Manhattan Beach
🕒 Sunday, September 27 | 9:00 AM–1:00 PM
💰 Free for spectators (car registration via Eventbrite on the promoter page)
The MBPD K-9 Foundation and Downtown Manhattan Beach bring the car show back to the downtown streets. Classics line Manhattan Beach Blvd.
It wraps up earlier in the day, so there's still time for a long brunch after. Downtown will be louder and happier than your normal Sunday morning.
🔹 Free for spectators
🔹 Supports the MBPD K-9 Foundation
🔹 Classics on Manhattan Beach Blvd
📷️ Downtown Torrance Antique Street Faire
📍 Old Torrance / 1317 Sartori Ave area, Torrance
🕒 Sunday, September 27 | 8:00 AM–3:00 PM
💰 Free (appraisal booth $3/item)
The Torrance Antique Faire takes over Old Torrance on the fourth Sunday. Over 200 sellers line the street, with live music and the kind of browsing that rewards getting there early.
Bring something for the appraisal booth and they'll tell you what it's worth for $3 an item. Built for lingering.
🔹 Free admission
🔹 Appraisal booth at $3 per item
🔹 Easy to linger once you start flipping through tables
🌕️ Full Moon Silent Disco at Vista
📍 Vista, 11 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach
🕒 Sunday, September 27 | 6:00–10:00 PM
💰 Ticketed (from ~$18)
The full-moon silent disco is back on Vista's patio at Pier Plaza. Headphones on, multiple channels to flip between, dancing steps from the Strand. Good Sunday nightcap after a day of car shows and antiques.
🔹 Early tiers from about $18 on Eventbrite
🔹 Bring a card for the headphone deposit, no BYOB on the patio
🔹 Park up the hill or rideshare, meters by the plaza run short
🥧 Torrance World Famous Pie Contest
📍 Torrance Farmers Market, Wilson Park, 2400 Jefferson St, Torrance
🕒 Tuesday, September 29 | Market 8:00 AM–1:00 PM (entries by 9:00 AM; judging ~10:00 AM; pie-eating ~11:00 AM)
💰 Free
The 4th annual World Famous Pie Contest takes over the Tuesday farmers market. Bakers compete in the morning, then the pie-eating contest draws the real crowd. Plenty of time to shop the stalls before or after.
If you're entering a pie, get there early. If you're just coming for the fun, the pie-eating is the part to catch.
🔹 4th annual, held inside the regular Tuesday market
🔹 Pie-eating contest is the main draw
🔹 Family friendly, all morning
🧘 Free Yoga on the Pier
📍 West end of Redondo Pier / Fisherman's Wharf, Redondo Beach
🕒 Wednesday, September 30 | 6:00–7:00 PM
💰 Free
Last Wednesday pier yoga of September. One free hour on the west end of the pier.
After a weekend of fairs and car shows, this is the reset. No ticket, and you're home before dinner.
🔹 Free, one hour
🔹 Bring a mat, towel, and water
🔹 Weather permitting
📷️ South Bay Snapshot
Redondo, after dark
That's it for this week!
If you only do one thing, make it the pie contest Tuesday morning. Best story you'll tell all week.
If you have a friend who always asks what's going on this weekend, forward this their way.
See you out there,
Jaime
@MySouthBay