Riviera Village celebrates start of summer with 41st Annual festival

Fringe drew festival visitors into its furniture store with an attractive sidewalk display. Photo

Lauren Elizabeth of Redondo Beach-based Lagoa Swimwear was among over 300 exhibitors at the 41st Annual Riviera Village Summer Festival last weekend. Elizabeth designs women’s swimsuits with pockets and has them sewn in Downtown L.A. “It’s been nice to meet people and get feedback on different styles and people’s favorite prints,” Elizabeth said.

John Post, of John Post Photography, began showing his work at the festival in the early 1970s. But last weekend was his first time back since 2013. “It’s local. I’m local. These are my people,” the Manhattan Beach-based photographer said.

The festival also featured live music, a food court, a petting zoo and carnival rides.

Riviera Village retailers welcomed the festival goers.

“We tell them we have more things inside and they go inside, and usually, they buy something,”  said Aida Bergloff, manager of Fringe furniture. Fringe has participated in the festival for each of its nine years in the Village. “

San Pedro-based Creative Sea Creations launched its line in March. Co-owner Kris Potter described his items as featuring “ocean themes, a lot of beach themes — just a thing out of God’s creation that reminds us of how nice life is. The festival offers a great opportunity for us to display our merchandise,” he said.

The Redondo Beach Women’s Club ran the information booth and sold water at the popular, community-run event, exemplifying Redondo’s communal spirit.

Comments:

comments so far. Comments posted to EasyReaderNews.com may be reprinted in the Easy Reader print edition, which is published each Thursday.