Eat local traditional snacks like pepper bellies and see neighbors perform on stage this weekend at the 53rd annual Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair.
The fair, which is free to attend, will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 4-5, with each day filled with live entertainment, rides and games, a parade and vendor booths at several locations throughout the heart of the city, including Live Oak Park, Dorsey Field and the Joslyn Center.
All food and paid game booths are operated by nonprofits, and proceeds will benefit the various causes they represent.
Around the fair, attendees can interact with animals in the petting zoo, watch magic shows and more in the Kid Country area, grab a drink in the beer and wine gardens, watch performances in a community showcase, and view local artists’ work in the amateur art exhibit.
Visitors can also anticipate the customary battle of the bands on Saturday morning.
Most importantly, fairgoers will come together to celebrate their hometown pride. After all, every piece of the event pays homage to the Manhattan Beach community.
One of the performance stages, for example, was renamed in 2023 to Dietz Stage to honor Pat Dietz, who played at the fair for more than 40 years. Diets died in a car crash months before the 2023 iteration of the fair.
Since 1972, volunteers and donors have made the Manhattan Beach tradition happen without outside sponsors — a true community effort. The hometown fair was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1977.
