Summer really doesn’t begin for me until it’s kicked off by Hermosa Beach’s Fiesta Hermosa — the largest SoCal arts & crafts fair. Bookending the summer on Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend, they’ve got live music, all the food you can eat from around the world, beer and wine gardens, great booths for shopping the works of community artists and ample people watching.

Since parking is unthinkable there, I usually like to park in Manhattan Beach and walk down. It’s a nice stroll on the beach path what with all the bikers, skaters and beach-goers and it gives you the opportunity to sober up during the 1.5-mile walk back if you end up drinking for some reason.

At the fiesta there are food vendors throughout but an actual food court in the lot behind Hennessey’s where if you don’t see anything you like you must not be all that hungry today. They’ve got everything — shishkabobs, funnel cake, tri-tip sandwiches, gourmet sausages, quesadillas.

The beer and wine gardens offer microbrews from Union Cattle Company and California wines.

You can push your way through the crowds of beachwear-clad people on the streets of Hermosa, which are closed off to traffic for the festival, and check out the 270 vendors hawking their arts and crafts — paintings, jewelry, photographs, clothes, etc. I never buy anything but it’s always fun to shop. There’s even a petting zoo for the kiddies where you can feed goats, goats and a zebra.

It’s a nice supplement for a day at the beach or you can stick around at night for the notorious pier nightlife scene.

EVENT: Sunday, May 28 – Monday, May 29 10am-6pm

Hermosa Avenue and Pier Avenue
Hermosa Beach, California 90254