I have been telling my girlfriend about the World Famous Pumpkin Races for almost 2 years now,…read moreyesterday (10-28-2012) our schedules were finally right and we were able to go together. If you know about the Pumpkin Races chances are you are a local and know where to park, so no matter the crowd you will be able to find a spot to park your Beach cruiser, skateboard or your car. Imagine my surprise when I arrived at the World famous Pumpkin Races and attempted to check-in and there was no World Famous Pumpkin Races on Yelp, THE INJUSTICE, and THE SHAME. What do you need to know about the Pumpkin Races is that it is all about the South Bay and the South Bay lifestyle. I will try and describe it for you. The Pumpkin Races take place on a Manhattan Beach Blvd a large hill that leads towards the Manhattan Beach Pier. There is a pumpkin festival where you can go and experience everything pumpkin. You can visit stands of the Surf rider Foundation, Ice Cream, Pumpkin this or Pumpkin that, you can enter a pumpkin to race same day, you can decorate your pumpkin instead a small village dedicated to sprucing up your pumpkin. The rules are very simple. You must build a pumpkin with wheels and the base of the pumpkin has to be natural and able to support the getup that you build, you can decorate your pumpkin in any fashion you want. You cannot weigh you pumpkin down so it will go straight or faster because if you are caught cheating you pumpkin will be moved to a body chalk outline and a referee with a Gallagher sized mallet will come out and smash you pumpkin into 1,000 pieces as the crowd cheers. If you get caught pushing off at the start of the race again your will pumpkin will be given a death sentence. The goal of the pumpkin races is to have your pumpkin go about 75 feet and hit the barrier first in order to move onto the next round. The barrier is protected by referees holding padding to prevent your pumpkin from hitting the barriers at top pumpkin speed. The referees are great who run this. They keep the crowd entertained and cheering prompting a sing along and dancing. The pumpkin races have an area for children to race and for adults to race, it is all about the fun, the pumpkin, racing and South Bay living. If you are in the area next year make sure you stop by and check it out and support local South Bay businesses.

Some people carve pumpkins…read more Some people build cannons and catapults and launch them as far as they can. And then some people mount them on wheels and roll them downhill like it's a soapbox racer or an entrant in Bring Your Own Big Wheel. The good folks of Manhattan Beach are of the latter school. The Pumpkin Races are fun, more family-oriented. I would say it's a novelty just for the kids, but it's more a city tradition, as silly as it seems to outsiders. The official rules state that you must create a vehicle using one pumpkin and individual axles, no Tonka trucks or other store-bought chassis, no engines, pyrotechnics, or explosives. The pumpkins are released down hill with gravity doing all the work. No pushing allowed. Cheater vehicles get smash by the referee using a giant wooden mallet. Some people cheat almost specifically to get smashed or just because it's funny to see a pumpkin suddenly pop out booster rockets and propel down hill. They know they're not going to win, so why not have fun and let the mob chant, "Smash it! Smash it! Smash it!"

The automatic doors parted before me like the gates to a forbidden arena. My heart pounded--not…read morefrom fear, but from anticipation. The smell hit me first: burning rubber mixed with ozone, a bouquet that spoke of countless battles fought on these very tracks. I approached the counter, signed the waiver with trembling hands. This was it. My initiation into the world of electric velocity. The safety briefing washed over me. Speed limits. Racing lines. Flags. But my mind was already elsewhere, imagining the perfect lap, the flawless execution of every turn. Then I saw it: the kart. Sleek. Silent. Deadly. I lowered myself into the molded seat, gripped the steering wheel. The moment my foot touched the accelerator, everything changed. The instant torque slammed me back into my seat! No engine roar, no warming up--just pure, unadulterated acceleration that felt like being shot from a cannon! The first corner approached rapidly. I braked--perhaps too hard--and felt the rear end slide ever so slightly. My pupils dilated. This was it. This was the dance. Turn two. I remembered the instructor's words. Brake early. Apex late. Accelerate through. My body moved on instinct, finding the rhythm, becoming one with the machine. By lap three, everything crystallized. The track revealed its secrets to me. That slight banking in corner four. The deceptive tightness of the chicane. Each revelation was a flavor explosion on my palate--bitter defeat transformed into sweet victory! Other racers surrounded me. I could feel their presence, their fighting spirit! We weaved through corners in formation, each seeking that perfect line, that extra tenth of a second. When I finally executed a flawless outside pass on the long straight, my entire body surged with electricity! The laps blurred together in a symphony of speed. Left, right, brake, accelerate--a recipe perfected through repetition, each iteration bringing me closer to nirvana. And then, too soon, the checkered flag. My final time flashed on the screen. I stumbled from the kart, legs shaking, heart racing, a massive grin splitting my face. The other racers gathered around the timing board, comparing battle scars and bragging rights. This wasn't just fun. This was transcendent. This was speed distilled to its purest essence, served at precisely the right temperature to ignite the soul! K1 Speed had delivered a five-star experience that left me hungry for more.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I gave this location (2) stars for the staff when you come in to register (they were helpful and…read morewelcoming) and because of my food (which took a while to order because the girl who took our orders seemed like she was not all there --for lack of better words-- she made the ordering process longer and difficult than it needed to be). The biggest issue was a staff around the track --this (1) girl in particular appeared to be having too much fun slowing certain go-karts down with her red remote, imo. But I'll get back to that in a sec. We decided to eat first: Food was okay-- ordered pepperoni pizza (they almost left it in too long and some of the crust was burnt. Had to break those pieces off and eat around it) and Pepsi in a bottle. My bro got sliders, wings, tots and Pepsi. His food took a while so we couldn't really eat together. Ended up sharing my food while we waited for his to come out -- which was weird since we were the only ones there who had ordered anything. When his food finally arrived he ate some of it and threw the rest away --guess he wasn't impressed. He mentioned it was "decent". Now to the races: Multiple people came and bumped me trying to get past me --never saw her slow their go-carts down but she definitely slowed down me and my bro multiple times when we were the ones getting bumped continuously. It got to the point where I just purposely stayed the last racer just to try and enjoy the experience and made no attempts to move up the ranks. Idk what the men's restroom looked like but the women's restroom had lots of gnats! Paper towels overflowing from the discard. Important to note: For as many staff as they had lollygaging around near the track you would think the place would be spotless. There weren't a whole lot of customer so definitely some staff could've been putting in some time and effort to clean around the place. Ultimately: We paid for (3) races. Ended up only using (2) mutually agreeing it was time to get outta there. Leaving the 3rd race on our accounts for another visit that we will be using at ANOTHER LOCATION. No I don't recommend and doubt I'd be returning. This review is reflective of my visit on 11/7/25 Duration of stay around 2hrs.

Porsche Experience Center LA (PECLA) is absolutely incredible and all racing/motoring enthusiasts…read moreshould try it out!! Gifted a 90 min experience for Christmas by my amazing wife. Best Christmas gift ever!! Easy to get to. Close to both 110 and 405 freeways. Large parking lot. Entrance and greeting is fantastic. Check in and get your personalized badge with lanyard matched to your specific car/drive experience. Can check out the facility and even the restaurant if you go when it's open. Meet your coach is where it begins. Fortunately I was paired with an absolutely amazing coach named Nate. Nate has an extremely friendly and welcoming demeanor, great at making you comfortable but while also pushing you and ensuring you gain new skills, increase confidence level, and overall have an amazing time. Highly recommend requesting Nate when booking your experience. I took out the 718 GT4 RS. Definitely recommend!! Super raw and visceral experience. The car sounds awesome. Mid engine is well balanced and tracks exceptionally well. Cannot recommend trying this highly enough. Can't wait to come back and try out a 911 GT3!!

Good experience overall at the Porsche Experience Center LA. Everything was well organized, the…read moreinstructor was professional, and the cars were great to drive. The only downside is that the track feels a bit small, so you don't get much space to really open up. Still a fun and enjoyable experience, and worth trying at least once.

I've been attending the AROSC events for nearly 20 years. You simply can't find a nicer group of…read morepeople to share a race track with. Well organized, safety oriented, yet casual and friendly whenever possible. It feels like family. The driving schools are perfect for introducing someone not only to race track etiquette, but general car control on public roads. They have a class for every level of driver. Beginners are always welcome. The 2 day format allows plenty of time to absorb and practice. A bonus is that once you experience the controlled environment on a race track, your urge to speed on public roads all but vanishes. Perfect for those who have a lead foot! The time trials and race events are fiercely competitive on-track, but totally laid back in the pits. A strong emphasis is placed on safety, which is welcome after running with some other clubs. And rates are far lower than any other organizations of this caliber.

AROSC has by far one of the best driving schools available. I learned at the school that NASA,…read moreVARA, SCCA, and others take the training from this school to enable for their provisional license. Not only did I learn a lot about technique, I gained valuable knowledge about situational awareness, how to exit my car in emergency situations and quite a few "on track" how too's. The instructors answered all of my questions with positive response, and used the questions in discussion. The end of the weekend graduation exercise with all the instructors was a true eye opening experience, I never would have never thought that I would be able to handle wheel to wheel.

It was today! You missed it! I didn't!…read more But there's always next year...because this event is held annually, on Sunday, around the weekend before Halloween, in front of Lunada Bay Plaza (Via Anacapa & Yarmouth Road, adjacent to Palos Verdes Drive West). Signs are posted in Malaga Cove & Lunada Bay on PV Drive West before the event. The festival is small, mostly locals who walk there from home. If you drive, park on surrounding residential streets (free). Via Anacapa is shut down between the hardware store & Yarmouth Road for the festival. There's a concert in Lunada Bay Park, right in front of the plaza. The event is put on by Lunada Bay Homeowners Association for Lunada Bay residents but open to all. Leashed dogs apparently OK, I saw several (who didn't know quite what to think of the critters in the petting zoo). No charge for entry to the festival or concert but you might want to bring a pumpkin on wheels & register to enter the pumpkin race. Great fun! Pumpkins go every which way, rarely in a straight line. People chase their pumpkins down the hill on the practice runs to keep them from smashing into whatever's in their path. I saw one wipe out against a car tire. Adults were having at least as much fun as kids with those pumpkins. There was also a petting zoo, a climbing wall, food booths, balloon artist, face painting & more. Some kids wore their Halloween costumes. The owners of Lunada Market & Deli cooked up burgers, brats, corn on the cob, sides, all reasonably priced. Delicious cheeseburger with all the trimmings ($7)! I shoulda had two. I got sunburned watching the pumpkin races! They race in groups of 5, then the winners of each race compete, assuming their pumpkins survive the first round. Family fun at its finest. I wanna enter the pumpkin race next year! I'll borrow a neighbor kid to bring with me so I don't look stupid. In my Halloween costume....

Fun street fair to check out vendors and community services. There is free parking at Kinecta…read moreCredit Union, and there is a bus that takes you to the fair.

I love going to the MB Old Hometown Fair. I am not much into the arts and crafts booths but I like…read moreto look through at everything. Most of the booth including the beer garden and wine garden's proceeds go to the Manhattan Beach school's soccer, football, tennis, baseball, lacrosse...teams. Last year I volunteered at the wine garden and we had a very nice selection of wines and all the proceeds went to the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation. Parking is impossible so I recommend riding a bike or taking a free shuttle from the Northrop Grumman parking lot located on Aviation Blvd just North of Manhattan Beach Blvd. www.mbfair.org/

Our first time hosting a casino night actually but had lots of fun and I might have started a…read moretradition for my birthday. They set everything up and took it down too. The dealers were funny and showed us how to play the roulette. Highly recommend if you want to have a good time.

Amazing company and incredible customer service! Took my party from drab to fab! People are still…read moretalking about it!! Can't wait to book again!

I was forced into this by my girlfriends, LOL. We ran the 5K which started at 8:30. Beautiful…read morecourse which goes along the ocean in several stretches. There are a few hills which will kick your butt, I walked on one in particular, you will know it when you get there, it's by the Redondo Beach pier. There is a fanfare area which has drinks, and healthy post race food. My favorite part is that everyone gets two free beers (thanks Ultra!) which need to be consumed on site. It is a great opportunity to meet people throughout the South Bay community and socialize.

I've read all the reviews. Too bad for the past runners. The only thing I can say is, I ran this…read morerace for experience and fun and it was never a disappointment. I take running and these types of physical activities to be beneficial and there's no reason to complain about. Complaint on the parking? No medal? Quality of tshirt? C'mon now. This year was a bling and a good quality shirt. There were so many participants and I was impressed how organized this event was. Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. Beers,Clif protein bars and bananas at the end of the race. If I were you,get up and stop whining. Go run or walk this race!

I came here over the weekend with my friends for some lobsterrrrrr!…read more Well, as for the lobster food options I give it 4 stars because it was pretty darn good. The lobster dinner $30 was really good! Full of a lot of meat and favor. It comes with Coke slaw, a yummy butter sauce, and some bread. The lobster clam chowder is another fantastic one and same with the tacos. As for the entertainment I would say 2 stars. As soon as you finish eating there's nothing else to do there. We walked and realized there's nothing else to do and well we were stuffed so we did not want more food. I think it's worth coming of you want to eat lobster and then hang at the beach.

Went to this event with family and friends…read more First, we got Goldstar discounted tickets rather than the regular entrance of $20. The event is located in a small section ( nearest to the Seaside Lagoon) in Redondo Beach. The event is set up by purchasing tickets that can then we traded for event food. The great thing about it is that they accepted paper and plastic as payment so didn't need to get cash out. The lines were fair during the time we were there which was great. The food was not bad at all. I figured some lobster sitting in some hot water for hours would end up tasting not as good but the taste of the lobster we got was fresh and still warm. We also got the taco combo which was real good and to top it off their lobster corn chowder was the best part. I was happy to see they were not shy with the lobster in both those orders so I felt I got my moneys worth. Their was plenty of security and people/staff to ask questions and get you help. At times a little crazy and unorganized but I understand how difficult these types of events can be. I would definitely come back to this event in the future.