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Volleyball, Selena, and a movie on the sand
What's happening around the South Bay | September 10–13
Jaime J
September 10, 2026
Hey South Bay,
I’m not ready to put the beach chair away just yet.
And from the look of this weekend, neither is anyone else. Would you swim from Avenue I to the pier, or are you more of a “cheer from dry land” person? Well, that’s happening this weekend, along with a few other reasons to keep summer going a little longer.
Here’s what’s going on 👇
This Week in My South Bay
Thursday, September 10
🏐 Wedbush Hermosa Beach Open Thurs- Sun @ Hermosa Beach Pier
🇺🇸 9/11 Remembrance & Veterans Recognition @ El Camino College, Torrance
Friday, September 11
🇺🇸 Hermosa Beach 9/11 remembrance @ Greenbelt at Pier Avenue, Hermosa Beach
🚗 Cruzin’ the Lagoon @ Redondo Beach Marina
💙 Row for a Reason @ Body One Fitness, Redondo Beach
🎸 Prescott Niles’ The Knack with Gene Loves Jezebel @ Deep End Live, Redondo Beach
Saturday, September 12
🔮 New Era Holistic Expo Spiritual Fair @ Center for Spiritual Living, Redondo Beach
👟 LA Kings 5K @ Riviera Village, Redondo Beach
🎨 Malaga Cove Art on the Lawn @ Malaga Cove Plaza, Palos Verdes Estates
🎤 512: The Selena Experience @ Columbia Park, Torrance
🎬 Hermosa Movies at the Beach @ South of Hermosa Pier
🖼️ PVAC Gallery Opening @ Palos Verdes Art Center
Sunday, September 13
🏊 Swim the Avenues @ Miramar Park, Redondo Beach
🎵 Hermosa Beach Concert Series: Magic! @ South of Hermosa Pier
Anytime
🦋 SOAR Tropical Butterflies + Thomas Dambo Trolls @ South Coast Botanic Garden
🏐 Wedbush Hermosa Beach Open
📍 Hermosa Beach Pier, Hermosa Beach
🕒 Thursday, September 10 through Sunday, September 13
💰 Free to watch
Beach volleyball takes over the sand in Hermosa for four days, which is about as South Bay as a weekend can get. The qualifier starts Thursday, with the main draw running Friday through Sunday. You can make a whole day of it or just wander over during a Strand walk and see who’s on court. Sunday is the big one, with semis, finals, and the beach concert happening nearby later in the day.
🔹 Free professional beach volleyball by the pier
🔹 Main draw runs Friday through Sunday
🔹 Bring water, sunscreen, and something to sit on
9/11 Remembrance & Veterans Recognition
📍 Library Lawn, El Camino College, 16007 Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance
🕒 Thursday, September 10 | 11:00 AM-11:45 AM
💰 Free
El Camino College is hosting a community remembrance ceremony ahead of September 11. The gathering honors the 2,977 lives lost, remembers the people who responded that day, and recognizes veterans for their service. It’s open to the public, not just students or campus staff. If you’re nearby during the day, this is a quiet way to pause for a moment.
🔹 Community ceremony on the Library Lawn
🔹 Honors lives lost and recognizes veterans
🔹 Open to the public
🇺🇸 Hermosa Beach 9/11 remembrance
📍 9/11 Memorial, Greenbelt at Pier Avenue
🕒 Friday, September 11 | 7:30 AM
💰 Free
Hermosa will gather to mark 25 years since September 11 and honor the lives lost and the first responders who answered the call. After the wreath laying, you can place a flower at the memorial to pay your respects.
🔹 Remarks, ceremonial music, and a wreath laying
🔹 Flowers provided for attendees
🔹 Everyone welcome; no RSVP needed
🚗 Cruzin’ the Lagoon
📍 Redondo Beach Marina, North Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach
🕒 Friday, September 11 | 3:00 PM-6:00 PM
💰 Free
Cruzin’ the Lagoon wraps up its season at the marina this Friday. All makes and models are welcome, so you’ll usually get a mix instead of one very specific car crowd. Bring your own car or just walk through and look around before dinner near the harbor. It’s simple, local, and easy to drop into.
🔹 Final Friday meet of the season
🔹 All makes and models welcome
🔹 Marina parking is paid
💙 Row for a Reason
📍 Body One Fitness, 201 Herondo Street #100, Redondo Beach
🕒 Friday, September 11 | 4:00 PM-9:00 PM; Saturday, September 12 | 7:00 AM-11:00 AM
💰 Ticketed
This is one of those local fundraisers that keeps showing up because people actually care about it. Row for a Reason supports Cancer Support Community South Bay, which provides free programs and services for people impacted by cancer. Participants sign up for 30-minute indoor rowing slots, and you can also support the fundraiser without rowing. It’s a good pick if you want your weekend plan to do a little more than fill the calendar.
🔹 30-minute indoor rowing slots
🔹 Supports Cancer Support Community South Bay
🔹 Fundraising and donation options available
🎸 Prescott Niles’ The Knack with Gene Loves Jezebel
📍 Deep End Live, 100 Fishermans Wharf Unit I, Redondo Beach
🕒 Friday, September 11 | Doors 7:00 PM, Show 8:00 PM
💰 Ticketed
Deep End Live has a throwback Friday night on the pier. Prescott Niles, the original bassist from The Knack, is on the bill with Gene Loves Jezebel. If those names mean something to you, this is probably the group-text pick of the week. Make dinner plans first, then head over without cutting it too close.
🔹 Live show on the Redondo Pier
🔹 Ages 21 and up
🔹 Doors open at 7 PM
👟 LA Kings 5K
📍 Riviera Village, Redondo Beach
🕒 Saturday, September 12 | Race 8:00 AM
💰 Ticketed; free to watch
Your Saturday morning run comes with a little hockey. The LA Kings 5K returns to Riviera Village with Daryl Evans hosting and proceeds supporting Kings Care Foundation. Registration includes a shirt, finisher’s medal, and a code for two tickets to a select LA Kings home game, with fees and exclusions. If running is not your thing, cheering from the sidewalk is still very much allowed.
🔹 5K through South Redondo
🔹 Supports Kings Care Foundation
🔹 No bag check, so pack light
🔮 New Era Holistic Expo Spiritual Fair
📍 Redondo Beach Center for Spiritual Living, 907 Knob Hill Avenue, Redondo Beach
🕒 Saturday–Sunday, September 12–13 | Check event page for daily hours
💰 Check ticket page for admission
Curious about a psychic reading? The New Era Holistic Expo brings readers, spiritual teachers, and holistic practitioners together for a weekend of workshops and browsing. Bring a friend whos into this stuff and take a look around.
🔹 Psychic and intuitive readers
🔹 Workshops and spiritual teachers
🔹 Ask about individual session prices before booking
🎨 Malaga Cove Art on the Lawn
📍 Malaga Cove Plaza, Palos Verdes Estates
🕒 Saturday and Sunday, September 12-13 | 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
💰 Free
Malaga Cove Art on the Lawn is a good excuse to slow down for a bit. You’ll find paintings, ceramics, jewelry, photography, and other work from artists connected to the Palos Verdes Art Center community. It’s easy to walk through, easy to pair with coffee or lunch, and probably better if you don’t rush it. Take a lap before you decide what catches your eye.
🔹 Outdoor art show at Malaga Cove Plaza
🔹 Local artists and PVAC-affiliated groups
🔹 Easy daytime stop in Palos Verdes
🎤 512: The Selena Experience
📍 Columbia Park, 4045 190th Street, Torrance
🕒 Saturday, September 12 | 5:00 PM-6:30 PM
💰 Free
Torrance closes out its Summer Nights series with a Selena tribute at Columbia Park. 512: The Selena Experience is part of the city’s inaugural Hispanic Heritage Festival, so this one has more going on than a regular park concert. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and give yourself enough time to settle in. If Selena is already on your playlist, you know who to text.
🔹 Free Selena tribute concert
🔹 Part of Torrance Summer Nights
🔹 Bring a blanket or lawn chair
🎬 Hermosa Movies at the Beach
📍 On the sand south of Hermosa Pier
🕒 Saturday, September 12 | Event starts 6:00 PM, movie around 7:45 PM
💰 Free; donation requested
Movie night is back on the sand in Hermosa. Bring a blanket, a low-back beach chair, and something to eat while you wait for the movie to start. You can pack your own food and non-alcoholic drinks. Admission is free, with donations welcome to help keep the series going.
🔹 Free movie night on the sand
🔹 Bring food, non-alcoholic drinks, and low-back chairs
🔹 Dogs are not permitted on the beach
🖼️ PVAC Gallery Opening
📍 Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes
🕒 Saturday, September 12 | Opening reception 6:00 PM-9:00 PM
💰 Free
Palos Verdes Art Center opens two fall exhibitions this weekend: Stephen Mirich: Stand by Me and the Studio School Faculty Show. Mirich is a San Pedro artist known for plein-air landscape work, and the faculty show gives you a look at what PVAC instructors are making themselves. It’s a nice one if you want an evening plan that is calm, local, and not built around a loud crowd. Give yourself time to see both shows.
🔹 Two exhibitions opening the same night
🔹 Stephen Mirich landscapes plus faculty work
🔹 Good low-key evening plan
🏊 Swim the Avenues
Miramar Park, 201 Paseo de la Playa, Redondo Beach
🕒 Sunday, September 13 | Half mile 8:00 AM, 1.2 mile 8:25 AM
💰 Ticketed; free to watch
Swim the Avenues brings swimmers back into the water off Redondo Beach for a Sunday morning race. There are half-mile and 1.2-mile distances, with wetsuit and non-wetsuit categories. A portion of proceeds supports South Bay Parkland Conservancy in memory of former Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand. If you know someone swimming, go cheer from shore and then reward yourself with breakfast nearby.
🔹 Half-mile and 1.2-mile ocean swim options
🔹 Wetsuit and non-wetsuit categories
🔹 Late packet pickup closes before 7:45 AM
🎵 Hermosa Beach Concert Series: Magic!
📍 On the sand south of Hermosa Pier
🕒 Sunday, September 13 | Program starts at 3 PM
💰 Free
Magic! headlines the first show of Hermosa's beach concert series. If you're heading down for volleyball, stick around for live music on the sand.
🔹 Auner Garcia Collective from South Bay Music Connection and Katt Hall open the show
🔹 The full program starts at 3 PM; Magic! plays later
🔹 Bring a beach chair, blanket, and a layer for later
🦋 SOAR Tropical Butterflies + Thomas Dambo Trolls
📍 South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Boulevard, Palos Verdes Peninsula
🕒 Through October 4 | Reserve a timed entry
💰 Ticketed
If you want something a little quieter, South Coast Botanic Garden has two good reasons to go. SOAR is still open with hundreds of tropical butterflies, and your garden visit can also include Thomas Dambo’s giant wooden trolls. The butterflies require a timed ticket, so don’t make this a “we’ll figure it out when we get there” plan. Once you’re done inside the pavilion, leave time to walk the grounds.
🔹 SOAR is extended through October 4
🔹 Garden admission includes Thomas Dambo’s Trolls: A Field Study
🔹 No strollers inside the butterfly pavilion
📸 South Bay Snapshot
the evening walk paid off.
That's it for this week!
Labor Day is behind us, but there's still plenty of summer left to enjoy around here.
If you have a friend who keeps saying summer went too fast, send them this newsletter.
See you out there,
Jaime
@MySouthBay
What sounds good this weekend? |