By Sofia Williams
News Editor
The City of Hermosa Beach held its annual Hermosa for the Holidays Festival from Nov. 19-21 at the Hermosa Beach Pier.
The festival featured an open house of the businesses along the Hermosa Beach Pier as well as an area for local artisans to showcase their work in the parking lot of Stars Antiques.
“I think it’s really important for Costa students to attend events like these, especially to support local organizations and nonprofits,” said Costa sophomore Natalia Liang. “It helps to build a sense of community in the South Bay.”
Tents were set up to host workshops geared toward kids and adults. Workshops included winter-themed arts and crafts as well as other activities hosted by local businesses and organizations.
“Everybody does their part to pull this event together,” said Sister Cities volunteer Bunny Conaway. “[The city] set up tents through EasyUp, which made it easier for organizations to hold their events and for people to volunteer their time to help out.”
P3 Theater Company’s “Storytime Tent” was located outside Java Man on Nov. 20, with different stories told every hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kids were able to write letters to Santa Claus on Saturday and were able to take photos with Santa Claus on Sunday.
“I think these events are very important for the community,” said Conaway. “They’re great for families, especially with all the activities for younger kids. So far, we’ve had a great turnout, and people seem to be enjoying it.”
An artificial ice rink sponsored by Kinecta Federal Credit Union was constructed at Pier Plaza. Participants had to reserve tickets in advance for their 50-minute skate time. Adults were charged $25 to skate, and children under 12 years were charged $15.
“I would definitely say the festival was kid-friendly,” said Liang. “I think they really catered to a more general audience of all ages. They had a section where Santa came in, as well as ice skating and other activities for kids.”
A “Giving Village” area in Pier Plaza featured local nonprofits such as Mychal’s Learning Place and Hermosa Beach Education Foundation. The organizations sold food and offered activities and crafts.
“We’ve done the tree lighting in the past—our organization has been around for almost 20 years, and we’re definitely thankful for the opportunity. But things have changed, and there are a lot of new faces [nonprofits] at the festival,” said Hermosa Beach toy drive board member Sandy Rohrbach.
The tree lighting took place in Schumaker Plaza on Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. To accompany this, community music groups put on a concert from 3 to 8 p.m. Groups performing included the Hermosa Vista band, singer Aly Pangaro, and band Sentry Dogs.
“The festival was really great for raising awareness about our band,” said Costa sophomore and Sentry Dogs guitarist Salem Spencer-Meade. “It looked like people were having fun, and overall I think it went really well.”
Sentry Dogs, the night’s headlining performer, is composed of lead guitarist and singer Spencer-Meade; bassist Julian Bailey; and drummer Dax Corcoran. The band performed with guest singers Sian-Michelle Guirao, Ashton Arbab, and Cassidy Fleeman.
“COVID has prevented a lot of people from going out, and there are a lot of things that people didn’t get to experience [last year],” said Spencer-Meade. “Having a live concert with local musicians was a really great event to bring the community together, especially having been under COVID restrictions.”
Hermosa for the Holidays will be continued throughout the month of December using a “Snowflake Scavenger Hunt” held by participating businesses throughout Hermosa Beach. Each snowflake corresponds to a code, and the contestants with the most codes entered have the opportunity to win prizes.
“I definitely think events like these help to bring together local businesses,” said Rohrbach. “As a former business owner, I can attest to the benefits it has for our community.”
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