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The Redondo Beach Lobster Festival!
Food, Fun, Music & Beer at Seaside Lagoon
It's a real feast - a full lobster dinner washed down by a Bud..
• Sept. 23-25, 2011,
Seaside Lagoon
A lagoon with
lobsters, a beach with beer (and cocktails) and lots of live music.
Joe's Band and the crowd party on stage.
The annual Dive 'n Surf Redondo Beach Lobster Festival is a true "Rock Lobster."
No, the B52s aren't there, but just about everyone in the South Bay
sure is for the three day-and-night event in Redondo Beach, CA,
Joe's Band brings the crowd to dance on stage in its electric performance
Fun times at the annual party/festival in Redondo Beach.
Held in late September, it features one-pound lobster dinners (flown
in fresh each day), a plethora of other food booths, shopping areas
and cocktails. In 2010, a "surf and turf" option has been added. For more photos, click here.
They get cracking on the lobsters at this annual Redondo Beach event.
It is held in the Redondo Beach lagoon, an ideal setting
for a casual event. Tables sit in the sand and the booths surround the
lagoon. Plus the Pacific Ocean is just over the shoulder.
Here's what the Lobsterfest serves up for entertainment:
Joe's Band brings it all in its energetic show Saturday night.
• Friday, Sept. 23 – 6 p.m.: Danny Dean and the Homewreckers, classic rock 'n roll; 7 p.m.: Ed Sullivan Presents, 50's and 60's music including Elvis Presley impersonator and a tribute to Johnny Cash; 8 p.m.: Couchois Brothers Bee Gees Disco Show; 9:30 p.m: Woodstock Tribute.
• Saturday, Sept. 24 – 1 p.m.: Cash Only, Michael Steele as Johnny Cash; 2 p.m.: Elvis Tribute; 3 p.m.: Motown Revue; 5:30 p.m.: Boys of Summer, Don Henley/Eagles Tribute; 7:30 p.m.: Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan Revue; 8 p.m.: The MVPs, 80s and 90s dance tribute.
• Sunday, Sept. 25 – 1 p.m.: John Brown Band, popular South Bay band playing California Dreamin' music; 3:30 p.m.: Parrot Head, Jimmy Buffett tribute; 5 p.m.: Catch a Wave, Beach Boys tribute; 6 p.m.: Paperback Writer, Beatles Tribute.
Tickets are $6 for Friday, $10 for Saturday and $5 for Sunday. Lobster Festival hours are: Friday 5-11 p.m., Saturday, noon-11 p.m., Sunday, noon-9 p.m. Lobster dinners are $30 and surf & turf dinners are $35.
The Bud beer tents provides beverages to wash down the lobster.
Bud, Bud Light, Michelob Amber Bock and Shock Top Belgium Wheat are $5; pre-made margaritas and
all kinds of mixed drinks are $7 and wine is $6, and $8 for premium selections. The drink tent volunteers seem to
be having as good a time as their customers.
 Many locals travel to the Lobster Festival on their bikes.
Normally, it's packed on Friday and Saturday nights, and people enjoy eating, drinking and being entertained under the sun on Sunday. Friday seems to turn into an unofficial "singles night," as many unattached guys and gals arrive not for lobsters, but for beer and the bands (plus the mingling).
 Regardless of the weather, it's a big drew for many South Bay singles, who love to mingle to the live entertainment.
In 2009, Joe's Band was a hugely popular choice as the Saturday headliner. Joe's Band has long been the #1 party band in the South Bay and they proved it again; when they did their signature "Hot, Hot, Hot" cover song, they invited the entire crowd on stage with them. The crowd formed a conga line and poured onto the stage to dance, dance, dance. It was a PARTY!
This was followed up the next evening by a Beatles cover band, which ended the festival on a high-energy note.
One
year, the Friday headline entertainer was Dick Dale, One could not find a more
appropriate musical guest than the King of the Surf Guitar. Dale's grinding
guitar sounds are meant to emulate the powerful forces of the waves
he feels while surfing. Most people probably know him for the Pulp Fiction
song but he's been playing these surf sounds since the late '50s. For
a community that thrives on riding the waves, Dale was spot on, as ideal
at the perfect wave.
Professional wakeboarders rise to the occasion in an '09 demonstration.
New and popular events added for 2009 were Hawaiian fire dancers, a fashion show by Body Glove models (girls and guys) and a wake boarding exhibition in the lagoon. The 2010 event features a mechanical bull and arcade games.
The event's "Maine" attraction, of course, is the lobster dinner.
Of course, the event's namesake is its main attraction. The lobsters are cooked and come wtih red potatoes, cole slaw, a roll and rich drawn butter. A "cracking station" provides a free service to have every piece of meat removed for customers (they do crack for tips).
The Beatles, er, Paperback Writer, look and sound the part.
Ahh, the beers are lined up, ready to be consumed.
 Related Article: Lobsterfest Photos
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