Party Weekend In Manhattan Beach and The South Bay

Manhattan Open, the Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball, and Trump Wine & Beer Festival Are Big Events

Here’s a look at what’s happening on this VERY happening weekend in Manhattan Beach, CA. Actually, it spills over onto beautiful Palos Verdes with a relatively new event to the South Bay, one that is quickly becoming a “must do” affair for the entire area.

MANHATTAN BEACH OPEN

 

The sport of beach volleyball was born on these very beaches, and in the beginning the Manhattan Open was created. Teams played for a steak dinner at a local restaurant and players sometimes tanked semifinal matches so they could hit on the girls while the others sweated it out in the finals.

And that’s the origins of what players and long-time supporters refer to at the Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball. It eventually grew into the AVP, but when that folded (on the eve of the tournament last year, no less), it went back to basics. For 2011, it’s the Jose Cuervo Manhattan Open Presented by Bud Light Lime.

It has several of America’s top players, though the duos of Todd Rogers (who is nursing an injury) and Phil Dallhauser and Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are not among them. The event does, however, feature Minnesota Timberwolves rebound machine Kevin Love. The former UCLA star is not too busy these days with the NBA lockout.

 

The event is happening all day Saturday and Sunday, with the women’s finals taking place Sunday at 2:15 and the men at 4. Be sure and have a Bud Light Lime with the Bud Light Lime girls at the downtown MB bars on Saturday! They will be at Shark’s Cove, Ercoles and Shellback from 2-5 p.m.

TRUMP NATIONAL WINE & BEER FESTIVAL

 

The setting is spectacular – high on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean with a high-class clubhouse serving as the entry point – and so is the event.

The Trump National Wine & Beer Festival is only in its third year but already it is high on the social calendar of many residents of the South Bay. Girls show up by the taxi load in their sexy Vegas cocktail dresses for sampling and gentlemen don their Charlie Sheen shirts for a day of socializing and suds.

In addition to dozens of wineries and more than 50 wines, lined up on rows of tables that just invites comparisons and conversations, the Trump event features several craft and specialty brews. All on a grassy area by the Trump National Golf Course, often with gliders rising above the hills almost in reach, it’s like going to the Temecula Wine Country without having to go all the way to Temecula.

The event is Sunday from noon-5 p.m. Tickets are $45 for unlimited beer and wine samples, there’s a band and some food. Here are photos and PubClub.com’s review.

ALSO ON TAP IN THE SOUTH BAY

A Dave Matthews tribute band is playing Saint Rocke on Friday and Super Diamond is there on Saturday…Brixton has five cover bands for $13 on Saturday at its main bar and The Dive at Brixton in the back of the building (different entrance). At Brixton it’s a Vitalogy, a Pearl Jam tribute, plus No Dub (No Doubt) and the Red Not Chili Peppers. At the Dive, it’s The Rising (Bruce Springsteen) and Slippery When Jersey….Union Cattle is offering a free companion dinner now through Labor Day weekend…The new hot spot in town is Strand House, formerly Beaches. It was really rocking last Friday when some PR-minded company named Manhattan Beach the country’s best place for women to meet single men. It’s nice but not cheap there. Beers are $9, wine is $11 and cocktails start at $13. More budget-minded people are likely to still spend most of their time at Shellback…FishBar, the great fish bar and restaurant in the former Sharkeez location, has rolled back its Happy Hour to 3-6; it used to be 4-7.