Three Weekends, Three Lobster Festivals

Buttery trio: Long Beach is up first; next is San Pedro, then Redondo Beach.

The Golden State is so vast that various food homages have a way of repeating in different parts of California during different parts of the year.

A prime example is the avocado, which is feted in Fallbrook every spring and then in Carpinteria in October. The 'cado calvalcade, in other words, only need wait six months for another creamy outing.

One notable exception to this rule is Los Angeles, September, and lobsters. Southern California is home to a trio of buttery crustacean hoedowns that line up one after the other over three consecutive weekends.

Long Beach is out of the gate first, over the Friday, Sept. 6. through Sunday, Sept. 8 weekend. It's year 17 for the Original Long Beach Lobster Festival, and the Rainbow Lagoon setting should appeal to those looking tuck in a bib and enjoy some ocean breezes during one of the hottest weeks of the year.

You can attend without purchasing a lobster meal -- live entertainment is a staple of this festival, as is zydeco dancing -- but if you do go the meal route, get ready for a steamed lobster, coleslaw, watermelon, and some other classic additions.

Less classic but very intriguing? There is a separate specialty for sale: lobster on a stick. And bringing it back around to the more commonly seen fold is the lobster roll.

Are you up for all three lobsteravaganzas? San Pedro's mondo Port of Los Angeles rolls from Sept. 13 through 15 and Redondo Beach follows. We just bet some of the same bib-wearing buffs head for all three. After all, a confluence of one food type in one place over three weeks is a rare thing, indeed.

The Scene

Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.

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Note about tickets for the Original Long Beach Lobster Festival: They're no longer available online, but, as of Friday afternoon, the fest is not yet sold out. You can purchase a ticket at Rainbow Lagoon.

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