S P V an edro isitor Volume 2, Number 4 March, 2016 Harbor Cruises, Whale Watching, Tall Ships, Fun! Inside This Issue Letter from San Pedro 2 March Cruise Calls 11 This Month’s Highlights 2 Profile: San Pedro BrewCo 14 Out on the Water 3 Restaurant Guide 15 March Events 7 The Directory 18 2 San Pedro Visitor March, 2016 Letter from San Pedro We’ve got so many great places in San Pedro that we’d love for you to see. San Pedro is Los Angeles’ Waterfront. And over the past several decades it has been transformed from a heavy industrial zone to a beautiful area with recreational, artistic, and historical opportunities. The LA Waterfront is home to the Port of Los March Highlights Angeles World Cruise Terminal, the finest facility of its type on the West Coast. Fanfare Fountain at the Spring Arrives edge of the Cruise Terminal and top of the Waterfront Here’s Hollywood Promenade produces daily choreographed light, music, and water shows. Great Sailing The Promenade provides a park-like setting with benches, a wide path PRING THE SEASON OF RENEWAL for biking or strolling or running, fountains that rise from the ground, S , , arrives on th and public art. A new Downtown Harbor along the Promenade offers a the 20 but even before that there’s a raft convenient place to stroll, have events, or berth your boat for a visit. of outstanding things to enjoy indoors and Our historic Downtown preserves architecture from the turn of the last out. century through more modernist styles with quaint shops, restaurants, THE LOS ANGELES HARBOR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL old-style bars, and lots of theater and art. And on the First Thursday makes its annual return. If there’s one event that truly evening of every month you can get a behind-the-scenes look at the showcases the “grand” in Warner Grand Theatre, this studios when the town holds its Art Walk. is it. Take a look at the event’s highlights on page 7. Head south toward the Pacific Ocean and you’ll find Angels Gate Park SAN PEDRO IS HOME TO ONE OF THE YEAR’S BOAT RACING with a cultural center where there are more working artists and many highlights: the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup 2016 exhibitions and events. Adjacent to the cultural center is the Ft. Cal Maritime Intercollegiate Regatta. The event, MacArthur Museum. hosted by Los Angeles Yacht Club in Cabrillo Marina, And right next door is the Korean Bell of Friendship, a gift from the will be held Friday, March 11 through Sunday, March Korean people for the U.S. Bicentennial that is one of the most beautiful 13. For information call 310-831-1203 or visit spots for photos. www.LAYC.org. Nearby is the Marine Mammal Care Center, a specialized facility that SAN PEDRO HAS A REAL ENTERTAINMENT GEM at Alvas nurses sick and injured pinnipeds, like sea lions, back to health. Showroom, 1417 W. 8th Street in the quaint And all that is just a little bit of what we have to offer. You’ll just have Weymouth Corner neighborhood. It’s host to world- to come see for yourself. class acts, up-and-coming musicians, and innovative You can find all the information you need to plan your visit at our groups and solo artists. Some of the acts appearing website, SanPedroTourist.net. And if you still have questions, give us a there this month are eclectic jazz and contemporary call at 310-729-9828 or email us at VisitSP@SPCVB. group Thrillhaus on Saturday, March 5, the Tizer SPV Quartet on Saturday, March 12, C&C Candi Sosa - Cristina Rebull, powerhouse Cuban songstresses, on March 19, and more. th 225 W. 6 Street THERE’S FUN FOR THE FAMILY WITH THE Port of Los Angeles’ San Pedro, CA 90731 Bike Rodeo and Ride on the 19th beginning at 9 a.m. 310-729-9828 It’s at Cabrillo Way Marina on Miner Street, which is www.SanPedroTourist.net located south of 22nd Street. [email protected] TAKE A TRIP TO CATALINA ISLAND for the Art Fair and Exhibition the weekend of March 25-27. The event San Pedro Visitor is published by Visit San Pedro, California, the will be held along Crescent Avenue in Avalon and independent convention and visitor organization serving San Pedro, the Los will feature local island and mainland artists, crafts, Angeles Harbor and Palos Verdes Peninsula communities, and Catalina musical entertainment, and children’s activities. Island. Information at 310-510-2788, Visit San Pedro is a brand of the San Pedro Convention and Visitors www.CatalinaArtAssociation.org (And get there on Bureau, a California non-profit corporation recognized as tax-exempt by Catalina Express right from San Pedro.) SPV the Internal Revenue Service under IRC 501(c)6. EIN 27-4362639. San Pedro Visitor March, 2016 3 From Harbor Cruises to Whale Watching to Corporate Events IN MANY WAYS, THE PACIFIC OCEAN IS Southern California’s playground. It offers residents and visitors plenty of recreational opportunities. For others, though, it’s a day’s work, with two mighty harbors that bring in nearly half of the nation’s imports. And the commerce of the water—the Spirit is known for its daily harbor And with the line-up of vessels it has ports, the commercial fishing—is cruises that offer an up-close look at the big available, Spirit is also a leading charter and fascinating. ships of facilities of the Port of Los Angeles. party boat company. Its team has put The undisputed leader in waterfront These informative tours depart from Ports together packages that make the process of cruises and tours in Los Angeles and Long O’ Call Village. planning and booking easy—along with Beach is Spirit Cruises. It operates four One, one-and-a-half, and two-hour tours ensuring tasty and attractive meals on different yachts, each with a distinct style, are available of Los Angeles, Long Beach, or board for lunch, dinner, and cocktail to serve nearly every need or interest. both harbors. events. It operates four vessels ranging from 65 The cruises always see sea lions and feet to 100 feet and from 75 to 275 many other types of sea life up close and in passengers. their environment. Continued on next page … The Best Way to See the Greatest Animals on Earth DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE to see the Pacific grey whales as they migrate along the California coast. And the very best way is with a whale watching cruise with Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Each boat is staffed by a trained naturalist from Cabrillo Whalewatch, a joint effort of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and the American Cetacean Society/Los Angeles Chapter. These are the real experts. Cabrillo Whalewatch 310-548-7770 [email protected] www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org For free information about whales, dolphins, and porpoises, visit www.acs- la.org SPV —Photo by Barbara Bennett, American Cetacean Society 4 San Pedro Visitor March, 2016 Out on the Water… a Spirit cruise is a well-fed cruise at an FIESTA HARBOR CRUISES sails classic vessels …continued from previous page affordable price. Spirit’s vessels on its trips around Los Angeles Harbor that are outstanding, happen every day, Monday through Friday interesting, and between 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and fun venues for Saturdays and Sundays between 11 a.m. corporate and 8 p.m. Highly recommended for a fun and informative adventure. meetings, parties, and team- Fiesta Harbor Cruises building. Berth 79, Ports O' Call Village, LA Wedding Waterfront cruises are 310-831-1906, www.TheFiestaHarborCruises.com available on all four of Spirit’s THE LOS ANGELES MARITIME INSTITUTE vessels with crew (LAMI) is best known for its TopSail youth and catering. It’s a program that teaches young people special way and a leadership and confidence through sailing special place to adventures on the official Tall Ships of the get married. Flat City of Los Angeles. rate wedding It uses hands-on experiences at sea to packages are available. provide an array of social, education, and From great arrays of seafood or barbeque to popular Mexican foods and appetizer Spirit Cruises leadership development opportunities to selections to a sit-down prime rib dinner Berth 77, 1200 Nagoya Way, Ports O’ Call middle school and high school students in that is known as the best on the waterfront, Village, LA Waterfront 310-548-8080, San Pedro and Wilmington, and www.SpiritMarine.com throughout the greater Los Angeles area. San Pedro Visitor March, 2016 5 The TopSail Youth Program is offered And LAMI also offers a range of The ships are also available for corporate year-round aboard the Tall Ships Exy programs to appeal to nearly everyone on events, such as team-building voyages. Johnson and Irving Johnson, 110-foot its twin brigantines. There’s a youth camp traditionally rigged wooden vessels named beginning on March 21. Los Angeles Maritime Institute after Adventure Learning pioneers who Throughout the year LAMI conducts Berth 73, Suite 2 sailed around the world seven times with Sunset Sails with potluck dinners with the LA Waterfront young crews. The vessels and their crews opportunity to pull a line while out on a 310-833-6055, www.LamiTopSail.org were proclaimed the “Official Tall Ships cruise in the harbor at the most beautiful CRUISE IN THE STYLE YOU DESERVE. Siren is a and Maritime Ambassadors of the City of time of the day. (There is one coming up on magnificent 54-foot yacht built in 1977, Los Angeles” at their launch in 2002.