From Santa Monica Close Up:

"This Thursday, April 18, 2024, the Santa Monica Pier turned up the heat with the Local's Night Car Show, turning the iconic spot into a buzzing hive of classic car mania. As part of the pier's hype Locals Night series, this event was tailor-made by and for Santa Monicans, dishing out a killer mix of activities that had everyone from toddlers to grandparents vibing."

Santa Monica Close Up is a photo blog by Santa Monica based Photojournalist/Press photographer Fabian Lewkowicz. Fabian is the former staff photographer for the Santa Monica Daily Observer Press, Santa Monica Mirror, Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Corsair.

Caltrans estimates the massive landslide at postmile 1.8 on Topanga Canyon Blvd (Route 27) in Topanga Canyon will be cleared by fall 2024 if all things go well.

Water continues to seep out from under dirt, mud and rocks, indicating mass may move. The last rainstorm (April 13 - 14) further saturated the unstable hillside.

• Due to present geological conditions and instability of the slope, material must be removed from the top down. Removing the "toe" of the slope will bring down the unstable earth and large boulders above as water is still percolating under the surface.

• A boulder that is about 10 feet high that is visible from the south side of the landslide is a safety concern. A crack has formed behind it that is about 5 to 10 feet wide, with the weight of the hillside pushing down on the boulder. A rough estimate of the landslide - just the visible face — is about 80,000 cubic yards and 9.2 million pounds. This is enough material to fill 5,500 dump trucks.

• SR-27 is closed from Grand View Drive to SR-1 (PCH). Temporary signal lights have been installed at Tuna Canyon Road and State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway). The signal provides a measure of safety for Topanga Canyon residents who need to access southbound PCH while SR-27 is closed.

• A major landslide occurred adjacent to the current landslide in the 1940s. It's unknown how long the roadway was closed at that time. The landslide that occurred March 9, 2024, is twice as large - the visible face is about 300 feet above the roadway but extends about 200 feet beyond that point into the brush.

Caltrans is working with the county and elected officials to mitigate impacts to the community. The public can submit questions to Topanga@dot.ca.gov.

The landslide is about 9.2 million pounds.

This is the Pup Cup division of the Skate Contest from the Venice Beach Games.

Check out the photos from this contest, Click Here

Join us at Point Dume beach for Earth Day weekend! We will be collecting trash alongside our local partners, The Bay Foundation, as they work on their ongoing living shoreline dune restoration project.

All cleanup equipment is provided- including gloves, grabbers, reusable trash bags, sunscreen, and a water refill station- just remember to bring a reusable water bottle!

The Bay Foundation’s mission is to restore and enhance Santa Monica Bay through actions and partnerships that improve water quality, conserve and rehabilitate natural resources, and protect the Bay’s benefits and values.

Sunday, April 21
10:00AM-12:00PM

For more info, Click Here.

Find out about more upcoming local events, Click Here for the Event Calendar.

Join us at Venice Pier (southside) on April 22nd from 4pm-6pm! We will be joined by our sponsor, Cabinet Health, as they make a stop in Venice on their Sustainable Swap Tour!

All cleanup equipment is provided- including gloves, grabbers, reusable trash bags, sunscreen, and a water refill station- just remember to bring a reusable water bottle!

Along with joining an active and vibrant community of volunteers, you will gain some insight into what we do at the Surfrider Foundation at our LA Chapter and at national level, collect trash from the beach, weigh your findings, and sort/record items found for our trash database.

Monday, April 22
4-6pm

For more info, Click Here.

Find out about more upcoming local events, Click Here for the Event Calendar.

Join us for a parking lot celebration behind the Surfrider LA office in Santa Monica on Wednesday, April 24th from 6:30 pm- 8:30pm. We will have our program leads from all of our SFLA programs tabling:

Blue Water Task Force
Ocean Friendly Gardens
One Watershed
Ocean Friendly Restaurants
Coast & Climate

Come learn how you can become a core volunteer with one of our programs!

Some other things to look forward to:

* A book swap! Bring your favorite climate/ocean related book to swap or donate to Surfrider LA's growing library.
* A giveaway! Show a screenshot demonstrating that you are a Surfrider LA monthly donor during our Earth Month Celebration to be entered to win.
* A call for artists! Surfrider is turning 40 this year! We will be hosting a design competition for our 40-year t-shirt design. Come to the meeting to learn more.
* Live music and celebration!

You won't want to miss this one!

Wed, Apr 24, 2024
6:30PM-8:00PM

For more info, Click Here.

Find out about more upcoming local events, Click Here for the Event Calendar.

Join us at Venice Pier (northside) from 10am-12pm! We will be connecting with our environmentally-minded community to collect trash from our beloved California shorelines. All cleanup equipment is provided- including gloves, grabbers, reusable trash bags, sunscreen, and a water refill station- just remember to bring a reusable water bottle!

Sun, Apr 28, 2024
10:00AM-12:00PM PDT

For more info, Click Here.

Find out about more upcoming local events, Click Here for the Event Calendar.

Get ready for some adrenaline-pumping action at the Spyder X Carver Pump track event - it's gonna be epic!

All ages, all skates, and all inclusive! Get ready for the first skate contest over at the Inglewood Pump Track presented by Carver and Spyder boards. They will have demos of all the latest boards, so if you don’t have a board and want to compete they'll take care of you!

There's going to be tons of prizes and the winner for one of the divisions will win a brand new Super73 E-bike.

Whether you're a beginner or a pro, this event is perfect for anyone looking to have a blast on two wheels. Don't miss out on the chance to meet fellow riders, test your limits, and maybe even pick up some new tricks. See you there!

For more info, Click Here.

Find out about more upcoming local events, Click Here for the Event Calendar.

Venice's Glen Walsh is thrilled to announce the documentary ‘Out in the Lineup’ is celebrating its 10 year anniversary with a screening at the Dana Point Film Festival on Saturday, May 4 at 1pm!

"Can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I music supervised and co produced this ground breaking documentary about LGBTQ surfers. So much progress has been made , of course we will have a ways to go towards equality and acceptance! Come see the film that launched a movement! Would love to see you all there with Riley Herman and mysel are doing a Q&A after! Or we will just surf!"

Time: Sat, May 4th, 1:00 PM @
Location: Dana Point Women's Club

For more info, and to get tickets, Click Here.


Originally released in 2014, and featured in film festivals around the world, ‘Out in the Lineup’ is a documentary following two gay surfers as they travel the world and learn why gay men and women surfers find it impossible to get sponsorships, or find acceptance in a sport which is supposed to be renown for it's laid back, free-spirited culture.



Join David and Thomas from the east coast of Australia to Hawaii, California, Mexico and the Galapagos Islands as they meet and surf with people from all corners of the surfing community. There’s some amazing stories, and beautiful surfing – contradicting a comment from a pro surf spectator that “gays just aren’t strong enough to paddle a surfboard”. There’s an openly gay three-time world champion, an award winning big wave rider, and former US Congressman and his surfer husband, along with everyday surfers, gay and straight coming together to help build acceptance. The story even inspired a current national champion surfer to come out and share his story – an amazing finale to the film.

Throughout their travels David and Thomas hear stories of fear, isolation and self-doubt, but are also inspired by tales of hope, self-empowerment and transformation. They witness the conflicts created by the marketing image of surfers (straight white males and women in tiny bikinis), and how it inhibits personal expression in a sport that’s supposed to be so free. Numerous attempts to get comments from the professional surfing associations, or the mega-corporations that sell billions of dollars of merchandise built on the surfing stereotypes were unsuccessful, as the film documents.



Why are homophobic slurs so common in the lineup? When homosexuality is now being accepted in pro sports including basketball, football and soccer – why is the surf industry unwilling to make any comment at all? How do gay surfers reconcile their identities as athletes when role models are invisible?

These topics and others are revealed as the journey of David and Thomas unfolds. They, along with the 5,000+ members of GaySurfers.net, their friends, families and communities hope this film can help create change in surf culture, looking to the surfing’s grassroots values of freedom of spirit, open-mindedness and love for the ocean.



Find out about more upcoming local events, Click Here for the Event Calendar.