The goal of our community fair
is to create a weekend event where locals can support each other as customers
and operators of fun booths while raising funds for local charity
organizations. Our fair is distinguished in that:
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It is organized and executed by an all volunteer
Fair Board of local residents – not a city or chamber.
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All of our food booths are
operated by 100% non-profit groups.
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Our Art Jury screens all the
handmade Street Art for unique diversity and fit in our community fair.
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We offer several options for
family fun at no cost (Kid Country and Free Games).
Please :
·
NO dogs,
skateboards, scooters, roller blades, roller-skates, or bikes.
·
There
are bike racks at both entrances.
·
There are
NO pet facilities.
·
To
be fair to your pets, let them relax at home.
FREE
parking and continuous round trip bus shuttle service is available all day
Saturday and Sunday from the Northrop/Grumman parking lot (see location below).
The shuttle service parking is located at the corner of Aviation Boulevard and
Marine Avenue in Redondo Beach. Follow the signs to the shuttle bus stop.
Shuttle hours are 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Sunday.
The shuttle will
run approximately every 15 minutes throughout each day.
Parking Address: (click here for
map)
1 Space Park Drive
R1 Parking Area
Redondo Beach, CA 90278
Runners in the 10K race on Saturday can park in
the Northrop/Grumman parking lot (see location above) and ride the Fair shuttle
to the race start line at Second Street and Ardmore Avenue. The Fair will
operate the shuttle beginning at 6:30 a.m. Saturday especially to accommodate
the runners and relieve some of the parking hassle for runners in the early
morning. Race time is at 7:30 a.m.
¯Disabled
Parking
Disabled parking is available at the north end of Valley Drive. Persons needing disabled parking may access this area from the corner of Blanche and Valley Drive.
¯Information/Lost
and Found
There are two
Information Booths, one on Live Oak Field, and one on Dorsey Field. Each
Information Booth displays a large map of the Fair.
***Parents
are encouraged to arrange a meeting place in case a child becomes lost.***
b
Fair Map
a
The
fairgrounds map will be available in September.
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¯Opening the Fair
Every year,
the Mira Costa Marching Band officially opens the Manhattan Beach Hometown
Fair at 10:00 on Saturday morning by marching down Valley Drive through the
fairgrounds and performing in front of the Joslyn Center. In recent years, a
group of Woodies has led the parade, followed by the marching band. And watch
for special guests, who may be riding in the Woodies as they lead the parade to
open the Fair.
¯Antique Cars
There will be
a display of Woodies, which are owned by Manhattan Beach residents, on 15th
Street, near the Post Office. Woodies were first produced in 1929, and some
version continued through the 40s. The cars had wood panels on the doors – thus
the name “Woodies.” Eventually, they fell out of favor, and into disrepair. However, in the past ten or twenty years, there has been a renewed interest in
them, and people have been buying them and restoring them. The Woodie is really
the original station wagon, and could even be considered the first SUV.
The Hometown Fair features more than 200 arts and crafts booths, showcasing
everything from glass, metal, wood, and ceramics to oil painting, watercolors,
jewelry, clothing, and more. The artists participating in the fair are
selected by a jury. The objective is to have an interesting mix of unique
quality items available for the fair goers.
The
Arts and Crafts Application is available for
downloading from this website on April 1. The deadline for submitting an
application is July 1.
There are many
activities taking place in the Joslyn Center, all day Saturday and Sunday.
Ø
The Joslyn stage
features continuous entertainment, starting at 10:00 each day. Performers
featured in past years include Beach Cities Dance, Kelly School of Irish Dance,
Music Rhapsody, Little Dragon's Karate, El Segundo Community Concert Band's
Flute Choir, Hype Studios, and Sew Fun/Sew Easy.
Schedules for Joslyn stage
entertainment will be posted on this site in September.
Ø
There will be an
Amateur
Art Exhibit, featuring
various categories of arts and crafts, with ribbons awarded to the best in each
category. Participants must be local residents and amateur artists.
Arts and Crafts vendors are not eligible to participate.
The
Amateur Art Exhibit Application is available for
downloading from this website from April until a week before the Fair.
Ø
The Manhattan Beach
Historical Society will display
pictures, books, and other interesting information about the city’s history.
Ø
The LA Southwest Guide
Dog Raisers may be there with
one or two guide dogs.
¯Food
Booths
Food, Food,
Food! A veritable smorgasbord of food is available on both Dorsey and Live Oak
fields. Available for your dining pleasure are hot entrees – hot dogs, corn
dogs, hamburgers, tacos, fish tacos (a fair favorite), pizza, BBQ, Polish
sausage, teriyaki bowls, Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches, tri-tip, pulled pork, and chicken on
a stick. Quench your thirst with a variety of refreshing drinks – water,
lemonade, iced tea, regular and diet sodas, smoothies, lemon chill, Hawaiian
shave ice, root beer floats, iced cappuccino, Snapple and Gatorade. Don’t
forget to satisfy your craving for sweets with funnel cakes, brownies, Krispie
Kritters, candy, apples slices with caramel, donuts or ice cream. For those
in-between-meal munchies, don’t miss the ever-popular pepper-bellies or other
snacks like Kettle Korn, nachos, pretzels, and churros.
The food
booths are staffed by non-profit organizations only. No commercial food
organizations are accepted.
The
Food Booth
Application is available
for downloading from this website on April 1.
¯Beer Garden
The Beer
Garden, which is located on Dorsey Field at the north end of the fairgrounds,
serves beer and wine, along with pear cider. The Beer Garden opens at 10:00
a.m. on
Saturday and Sunday, and sells beer and wine tickets until 4:30 p.m. on Saturday
and Sunday.
The Beer
Garden is staffed by local charities established for the benefit of Manhattan
Beach youth. A drawing takes place in June, where four of the charities are
selected to operate the Beer Garden. Each group selected will receive a portion
of the net proceeds.
The
Beer Garden Application is available
for downloading from this website on April 1. The deadline for submitting an
application is in June. Check the application for the exact date.
¯Wine
Garden
The Wine
Garden is located at the basketball courts, which can be reached via Live Oak
Field. The Wine Garden serves premium wines in a casual and comfortable
garden-like setting. Wine Garden hours
will be posted in The Beach Reporter on Thursday before the Fair and at the Info
Booths during the Fair.
Our designated Free Speech area is at
the north end of the fairgrounds. For safety reasons, this is the only space
where registered non-profit organizations and political groups can set up booths
and disseminate information about their cause. Eligible groups include those
where the interest or cause involves public safety, public awareness, community
awareness or local issues. Nothing may be sold at the Free Speech booths, nor
may physical services be provided, but groups may hand out information and
pamphlets in the designated Free Speech area.
¯Paid Games
You will find
paid games booths on both Live Oak and Dorsey Fields. Among the games offered
in past fairs were the Ring Toss, Kool Pool, Ball Toss, Basketball Toss, Bean
Bag Toss, Wiffle Ball Toss, Alligator Ring Toss, Sponge Toss, Bowling Ski Ball,
Knock Out Pool Ball, Bumper Cars, Speed Gun Baseball, Goldfish Ping Pong Toss,
Sand Candy Art, Beauty Shop, Hair Spray Booth, Nail Painting/Color Hair Spray,
Dragon Slime, Face Painting, Cookie Decorating, Tattoos, Jewel Hunt, Glider
Throw, the Rock Wall/Rappel Tower, and the Ladder Guys.
Most paid
games booths are staffed by non-profit organizations.
The
Paid Games Application is available
for downloading from this website on April 1.
¯Free Games
Children of
all ages enjoy the free games offered at the Hometown Fair. Each race or
game is typically offered in heats for ages 4-7, 8-12, 14-18, and 19+ for the
adults. Games typically include a water balloon toss, a 3-legged race, a sack
race, an egg toss and several other surprises. All game winners in each age
group receive prizes that have been generously donated by our local merchants.
For children under 4, we have a magician that will perform both days at the Tot
Lot, a Treasure Hunt for toys, roaming clowns, and of course our famous Toddler
Trot and Diaper Derby races (see below).
¯Diaper Derby and Toddler Trot
Races
The annual
Diaper Derby and Toddler Trot races are a hit for both the parents and the children
racers alike! Entrants for the Diaper Derby must still be crawling, and for the
Toddler Trot, are walkers under 24 months. Parents… bring your cameras. It is
a hoot!
Diaper Derby and
Toddler Trot Applications
are available for downloading from this website in May.
The
Free Games Schedules will be posted on
this site in September.
Kid Country is
Family Country! There are a number of attractions that return every year due to
popular demand, such as the pony rides, the petting zoo, Henry Lizard Lover and
his awesome lizards, the Walk on the Wild Side show which features various wild
animals, the Bird Lady with her amazing birds, and the giant 50-ft slide.
The Vamphear Circus
will be returning with some repeat favorites and some new acts. Individual
circus acts are scheduled all day Saturday and Sunday.
Some of the
Vamphear Circus acts that have appeared in years past (and may be back this year
as well) are:
Ø
Count Smokula, the MC
who entertains with music and humor!
Ø
Ted Shred--Fire
Manipulator & Escape Artist, who performs a "Houdini-esque" straightjacket and
chain escape as well as his amazing and dangerous world of fire.
Ø
David Markam--Miracle
Man, who thrills the audience throwing knives around a beautiful young lady.
Ø
Bill Perron--Swami of
El Monte, who performs magic and mentalism. Bill astonishes his audiences with
uncanny mind reading, mentalism and displays of unparalleled magic. A featured
performer at Los Angeles's famed magic castle, Bill will amaze the audience with
his feats of magic including his "severed arm" routine.
Ø
Lady Links--Aerial
Artist – This captivating aerialist performs intricate figures and flowing poses
while suspended high above her audience by chains, chiffon tissues or Spanish
web. The audience witnessed her death-defying drops and stratospheric
pirouettes. She performs aerial ballet at its finest--without a net!
There will be
an exhibit by the
Manhattan Beach
Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium
– also known as the OTS (Oceanic
Teaching Station), but commonly referred to as the “Roundhouse”.
As part of the
National
Child Identification Program,
the Beach Cities Masonic Center hosts a table in Kid Country where they
fingerprint children and provide an I.D. Kit to their parents. More than
800,000 children in America are missing each year. The National Child
Identification Program, created in 1997, is a community service initiative
dedicated to changing these statistics by providing parents and guardians with a
tool they can use to help protect their children. The I.D. Kit allows parents
to record the physical characteristics of their children along with their
fingerprints on ID cards that are then kept at home with the parent. The
program is the largest child ID effort ever conducted, and their goal is to
reach all 60 million children in the United States.
Kid
Country Event
Schedules
will be posted on this website in September.
Two stages at
the Hometown Fair provide entertainment on Saturday and Sunday.
¯Main Stage
On Saturday, the Main Stage, located
on Dorsey Field near the Beer Garden, will feature the Annual Battle of the
Bands. Local amateur bands, the finalists selected at auditions in early
September, will battle for the title – and a cash prize. There are also
additional prizes for runner-ups. The winners will be announced on stage
following the conclusion of the battle.
On Sunday, the Main Stage will feature
a complete day of entertainment for your listening pleasure.
The
Battle of the Bands Auditions
Application is available for downloading from this site in April.
Main Stage
schedules
will be posted on this site in September.
¯South Stage
The South Stage, which is located
next to the Joslyn Center, offers continuous entertainment from 10:00 to 6:00 on
Saturday and from 10:00 to 5:00 on Sunday. In addition to the Mira Costa Band
performance, which officially opens the fair, the Hyperion Outfall
Serenaders Dixieland jazz will perform on the South Stage.
Entertainment will include music from soft country
and blues to rock and roll.
The Hometown Fair sells T-shirts that feature a design by a local artist. The
T-shirt booth is located on Live Oak Field, next to the Information Booth.
Sizes available are Youth S, M and L, and Adult S, M, L, XL and XXL. Every
year, the T-shirt booth is staffed by employees of The Beach Reporter.
¯Past T-Shirt Design Contest
Winners
Ø 2006
- William Haines
Ø 2005
- Mary Pat Dorr
Ø
2004 – Sarah Coles
Ø
2003 – Marty Karabees
and Jeannie Brunnick
Ø
2002 – George
Watanabe (another of George’s designs also won in 1994)
Ø
2001 – Marty Karabees
Ø
2000 – Kelly Perez
(another of Kelly’s designs also won in 1998)
Ø
1999 – Ian Freshman
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Applications
are required for a number of Hometown Fair events. When they are available,
they will appear in the list below. Click the desired application to download an Adobe
Acrobat
 file.
*These
applications are for non-profit organizations only.
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