May 2013 – GOT BADDOG

Photos of Fiesta Hermosa 2013

Arts and Crafts fair, Canon 5D, Chamber of Commerce, Family fun, Fiesta Hermosa, Hermosa Beach, Local business, Photos, pictures, Tanya / 2 minutes of reading / May 28, 2013

Back in 1972, the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce decided to put together “the largest arts & crafts fair in Southern California.” I have not visited all the arts and crafts fairs in Southern California so I cannot confirm whether or not they met their goal, but it has to be one of the longest running ones. Not only have they had this fair every year for more than 40 years, they do it twice a year, every year; Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend. It definitely signals the beginning and end of summer in the South Bay. While …

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Memorial Day Weekend at South Coast Botanic Garden

Family fun, Memorial Day, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Photos, pictures, Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, South Coast Botanic Garden, Southern California, Tanya / 1 minute of reading / May 27, 2013

Saturday was the beginning of the long 2013 Memorial Day weekend and since Tanya has been working pretty hard getting her new book, Faces of Juicing, ready for publishing, we decided to take advantage of the great weather and pay another visit to the South Coast Botanic Garden on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The South Coast Botanic Garden is huge with over 40,000 trees and 200,000 plants, so we are able to return several times a year and it always looks at least a little different as different plants bloom at different times of the year. There are several species …

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1st Annual CRUSH Wine Festival

18th Street Arts Center, CRUSH, fundraiser, Photos, pictures, Santa Monica, Southern California, wine festival, wine tasting / 1 minute of reading / May 21, 2013

On Sunday, the 18th Street Arts Center held their 1st Annual CRUSH, an artisanal wine, art and food tasting event at their location on 18th Street in Santa Monica. This was a fundraising event for the 18th Street Arts Center and I would say they had a pretty nice turnout of about 500-600 people; if I had to guess. It was a great day to be outside, the food smelled and tasted great, there was good music, fun people and wine; lots and lots of wine. As you know, I am more of a craft beer guy, but we did …

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Smog City Brewing Opens & Strand Brewers Club Party

ACBW, American Craft Beer Week, craft beer, Local brewers, microbrewery, Photos, pictures, Smog City Brewing, Strand Brewers Club, Torrance / 2 minutes of reading / May 21, 2013

Saturday was day six of the 2013 American Craft Beer Week and in keeping with the theme of the week these photos are from the Smog City Brewing grand opening and a birthday party for the President of the Strand Brewers Club, a local home brewers club. If you have been following this site recently, you probably noticed that Smog City Brewing, a 2012 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal winner, has been holding a few soft-opens in preparation for their grand opening. Well, Saturday was the big day. As Tanya really enjoys the Smog City Groundwork Coffee Porter and …

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Torrance 54th Annual Armed Forces Day Parade

Armed Forces Day Parade, Canon 5D, Family fun, Montford Point Marines, parade, Photos, pictures, Southern California, Torrance / 2 minutes of reading / May 20, 2013

On Saturday, Torrance held their 54th Annual Armed Forces Day Parade, the longest running military parade sponsored by any city in the United States. Prior to the event I was reading about how much smaller the parade would be this year due to budget constraints as a result of the sequester. This was my third time attending the parade in the last few years, and while there were slight changes this year, I cannot say that there were not similar cutbacks prior to the sequester. Either way, it was a fun event for the entire family and Torrance Boulevard was …

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Torrance readies for Armed Forces Day Parade

Armed Forces Day Parade, Family fun, military exhibits, Photos, pictures, Southern California, Torrance / 1 minute of reading / May 18, 2013

Today, the City of Torrance will have their 54th Annual Armed Forces Day Parade; the nation’s longest running military parade sponsored by any city. The parade begins at 1:30 PM and will travel up Torrance Boulevard; beginning at Crenshaw Boulevard and ending in front of the Torrance City Hall at Torrance Boulevard and Madronna Avenue. Even though the recently implemented sequester is forcing a few changes as far as things like what military units, bands and flyover will be present for the parade, the show shall go on. Friday, there was a display of various military vehicles, big guns and …

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San Pedro Brewing Company and Smog City Brewing

ACBW, American Craft Beer Week, brewpub, Great American Beer Festival, Local brewers, microbrewery, Photos, pictures, San Pedro, San Pedro Brewing Co, Smog City Brewing, Southern California, Torrance / 1 minute of reading / May 18, 2013

Friday was day five of the 8th Annual American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) and I was able to visit two gold medal winners that are both located in the South Bay; San Pedro Brewing Company from San Pedro and Smog City Brewing Company (2012 Great American Beer Festival) in Torrance. San Pedro Brewing Company is a brewpub that has been in San Pedro for 13 years and currently has seven beers brewed on location. Smog City Brewing Company just moved to Torrance and is having their grand opening today, May 18 from 12-8 PM. Both locations have a wide variety …

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American Craft Beer Week, Day 4

ACBW, Alpine Inn, American Craft Beer Week, Business N Beer, GABF, Hermosa Beach, Hot's Kitchen, Local business, Photos, pictures, Southern California, Torrance / 2 minutes of reading / May 17, 2013

This group of photos are from American Craft Beer Week 2013 (ACBW), day 4. Regular readers know that on Thursdays we have our Business & Beer gatherings; so it was a little difficult for us to get out of town long enough to get to a Great American Beer Festival (GABF) winner and get back to the area for our Business & Beer meetup. Business & Beer was scheduled to be held at Alpine Inn at Alpine Village in Torrance, which could have been a great idea as they do have a wide selection of beers from local craft brewers …

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Business & Beer Meetup at Alpine Inn

Alpine, American Craft Beer Week, Business N Beer, gastropub, Local business, networking event, Photos, pictures, Southern California, Torrance / 1 minute of reading / May 17, 2013

These photos are from our Business & Beer gathering at Alpine Inn last night. Alpine Inn is a German gastropub at Alpine Village in Torrance. While a German restaurant might not seem like a likely setting for a Business & Beer gathering during American Craft Beer Week, the general manager is a home brewer and makes it a point to have a good selection of American craft beers on tap. Unfortunately, about one third of their taps were nonfunctional last night, so we were limited as to the number of American beers while there were plenty of German beers available. …

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American Craft Beer Week with Stone Brewing

ACBW, American Craft Beer, American Craft Beer Week, Craft Beer Guy, gastropub, Haven Gastropub, Pasadena, Photos, pictures, Southern California, Stone Brewing Company / 1 minute of reading / May 16, 2013

Day three of the 8th Annual American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) found us out in Pasadena at the Stone Brewing, Company Store. When it comes to venerable Southern California, award winning breweries, it would be pretty tough to beat Stone Brewing. Stone Brewing had the first California beer tasting room that I visited on a regular basis, but it is out in Escondido which is a 100 mile ride. Fortunately, it is a pretty nice ride and Stone makes some quality beer. Recently, Stone Brewing opened a company store at the Del Mar Metro station. It is not nearly as …

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