Hey, neighbor!

Torrance has many important civic traditions, but this week’s Farmers’ Market pie contest might be my favorite.

There were homemade pies, some very serious judging by some very official Torrance people and, naturally, a pie-eating contest to finish things off.

I was there taking notes (and wondering how one lands a spot on this particular civic committee).

More on that below, plus what caught our attention at the State of the City and everything else worth knowing around town this week.

Here’s your weekly wave.

In this issue:
​🌊 What’s next for Torrance: aerospace, water, cameras, LA28 + more
🌊 Meet the Downtown neighbor who’s spent nearly 30 years giving us reasons to show up
🌊 Scaredown, Oktoberfest, marching bands + your first properly spooky October weekend

Mayor Sharon Kalani delivered her first State of the City address last Friday, built around a theme of “One Torrance, One Community.” There were plenty of big-picture numbers: a $583.4 million operating budget, a record $44.4 billion in assessed property value and some 13,000 active business licenses.

But we were listening especially for what’s coming next. Here are six things that caught our attention:

🚀 Torrance’s aerospace boom is getting bigger.​
Northwood Space is preparing to open a 185,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in Torrance, more than five times its current manufacturing footprint, with plans to add 400 jobs over the next three years. Hadrian is advancing a minimum $50 million expansion expected to create more than 500 local jobs, while Castelion is taking over space originally intended for Sony Honda Mobility’s AFEELA operation. Add in AnySignal, Antares and others, and Torrance is quietly becoming quite the aerospace hub.

🏥 A new community health center breaks ground this month.​
The city plans to begin work in October on the Pathway Torrance Community Health and Wellness Center at 2300 W. Carson St., transforming a long-vacant county facility into a new space for health, wellness and supportive services.

🚰 Torrance is making a lot more of its own water.​
The Goldsworthy Desalter expansion will nearly double local production to 2.3 billion gallons of drinking water a year, reducing Torrance’s dependence on imported water and, according to the city, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

🚓 Police are adding 100 cameras.​
More than $1 million in federal funding will expand TPD’s Real Time Response Center with five new communications sites and 100 additional cameras. TPD has also launched Secure Torrance, where residents and businesses can register their security cameras so investigators know where potential video evidence exists. Registration does not give police access to a live feed; businesses can separately choose to integrate their cameras.

✈️ Unleaded aviation fuel is coming to Zamperini Field.​
Torrance Flight Park and Sling Pilot Academy reached an agreement last week to convert an existing underground tank at the airport to provide unleaded aviation fuel. The city says the move responds to longstanding community interest and is another step toward reducing lead emissions from aircraft.

🏅 Torrance is already getting ready for the 2028 Olympics.​
The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee has chosen Torrance as a home base for LA28, with 50-plus hotel rooms committed and city facilities booked for training. And apparently they may not be alone: Kalani said the city is talking with other countries about using Torrance during the Games, teasing one potential visitor from a country known for “flamenco and fantastic food.”

The city is also looking to businesses to help fund the WWII monument. City Council voted last month to move ahead with the Japanese American incarceration monument at Columbia Park despite a multimillion-dollar funding gap. At Friday’s address, Kalani pointed to the $5 million already secured from the state and asked businesses and community partners to help raise the rest.

One more number we liked: TRYST, NOMAD and Torrance Summer Nights collectively drew more than 45,000 people. Apparently, Torrance really does like hanging out together.

🌧️ El Niño prep just got more serious
​Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as California prepares for what could be a historic El Niño season, allowing the state to move more quickly to stage resources, prepare infrastructure and reduce flood and coastal risks. So, how ready is Torrance? The Tide is looking into local preparations. Hit reply with your questions, and we’ll take them with us.

📦 Puma’s Torrance warehouse is getting a new operator
​Shipping giant Maersk is taking over operations at Puma’s highly automated Torrance distribution center under a new deal covering three U.S. warehouses. Starting in 2027, the Torrance facility will also fulfill orders for other brands, becoming Maersk’s first North American multi-client warehouse using its AutoStore robotic system. It’s expected to handle about 20 million items a year.

🎨 Torrance is honoring its local artists
​The city has named its 2026 Excellence in Arts Award winners, recognizing eight local artists and organizations across music, theater, dance, visual arts and more. Among them: Andy Hill & Renee Safier, the longtime Torrance musicians and Dylanfest founders we introduced you to earlier this year. All eight will be celebrated at a free ceremony Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. at Toyota Meeting Hall.

🛍️ Del Amo, still very big
​A new roundup of America’s biggest and best-known malls puts Del Amo Fashion Center at No. 6, which sent us down a little Torrance mall-history rabbit hole: after Del Amo and neighboring Fashion Square were joined in 1981, the resulting mega-mall was the largest in America for more than a decade, until Mall of America opened in 1992. Your neighborhood mall has lore.

Meet Julie Randall, who has spent nearly 30 years giving people a reason to come downtown.

When Julie Randall first opened her antique business in Downtown Torrance, she remembers the neighborhood being something of a “ghost town.”

“You never had to worry about parking,” she said.

That was nearly three decades ago. Julie moved to California after college at Arizona State (“There was a guy,” she said. “Of course there was a guy.”) and eventually found her way to a few blocks of Torrance that would become her neighborhood, her business and, in many ways, her project.

“I just love it,” she said. “I love my neighbors.”

So Julie started helping create reasons for other people to love it, too.

Twenty-eight years ago, she started the Downtown Torrance Antique Street Faire. What began small has grown into one of the larger monthly shows of its kind in Southern California, bringing vendors and shoppers downtown month after month. Julie has watched businesses discover the neighborhood at events and later decide to open there themselves.

“We’re trying to make it a destination,” she said.

Ten years ago, that effort took a decidedly spookier turn.

Julie’s neighbor Tiffany Mitchell of Black Raven Tattoo loved Halloween and wondered why Downtown Torrance didn't do anything for it. Together with local business owners, they came up with Scaredown in Downtown.

The first year had a budget of roughly $1,000 and streets that remained open to traffic. The crowds came anyway. The next year, organizers closed more streets. They added entertainment, vendors and trunk-or-treating. And it kept growing. Last year, Julie said, more than 10,000 people attended.

This Saturday, Scaredown returns for its 10th year.

Julie probably won’t have much time to admire the costumes.

She’ll be clearing streets, placing vendors, coordinating entertainment and making sure the trunk-or-treaters are where they're supposed to be. In fact, despite organizing a Halloween event for a decade, she said she often doesn't even manage to get into her own costume.

“I’m running around the whole time,” she said.

Events cost more than people realize. Organizers are hard to find. Running a small business isn't easy. And after Scaredown? There’s another Downtown Torrance event to work on.

But Julie keeps doing it.

“There’s just a core of us that care about the greater good for downtown,” she said. “We’re kind of invested in downtown.”

Maybe that's the story of these few blocks, too. They didn't become a gathering place by accident. For nearly 30 years, Julie and her neighbors have kept giving us reasons to show up.

This Saturday, a few thousand costumed Torrance kids will do exactly that.

Next week, meet one of the local artists turning some of Torrance’s most ordinary objects into little pieces of public art.

PSSST... WE HAVE A BIRTHDAY COMING 🌊 Three weeks from today, The Tide turns six months old. Which feels both impossible and somehow like we’ve been talking about Torrance together forever. So we have one half-birthday wish: welcome 600 new neighbors to The Tide this month. We’re calling it The Six-Month Tide Drive. Can 100 of you bring six friends along? ​Get your personal sharing link, send The Tide to someone who’d love it (or your whole group chat), and every friend who joins gets you another chance to win one very good Saturday, on us. JOIN THE SIX-MONTH TIDE DRIVE →

🍽️ Must Try Costco | DIY Pumpkin Pie Sundae | Pumpkin season + ice cream weather, the Torrance way. Grab a Costco pumpkin pie and a vanilla soft serve from the food court, then combine. Consider your Costco run justified. ​The Find →

🎶 On Repeat “California Dreamin’” by The Mamas & the Papas | October on the calendar, summer temperatures in the forecast. California fall, basically. ​Hit Play →​

🏡 Eye Catching 18001 Avis Ave | White oak, a giant quartzite island and folding glass doors opening onto nearly 800 square feet of covered patio. A North Torrance ranch with a very good glow-up. And a familiar name is on the listing: former Locals Only neighbor Jenna Christensen. ​Let's Go →

🥧 Torrance takes its pie seriously. I stopped by the Farmers’ Market’s fourth annual “World Famous” Pie Contest Tuesday morning, where 11 homemade pies faced a nine-person judging panel that included City Council members and the police and fire chiefs. (“Not going to issue any citations today if the pies are bad?” someone asked Police Chief Dunn. “Not unless it tastes like a donut.”) The lineup included orange almond meringue, chai-spiced apple cranberry and maple bourbon pecan with a sourdough crust, which someone in the crowd correctly noted was “just a list of many of my favorite words.” Carol took first with her strawberry guava pie, followed by Alex’s apple and Mariana’s apple streusel. Finally, a pie-eating contest featuring little chocolate pies from Torrance Bakery.

🎃 Just over here adding some whimsy to the neighborhood. I went for it this year with orange bulb lights, classic pumpkin pails (glowing, obviously), an inflatable jack-o-lantern and a few giant snakes coming up through the grass. Just enough Halloween nonsense to make coming home more fun.

💌 Torrance High has a whole feed for homecoming proposals. tudents send in their HOCO asks, and @@thshocoproposals osts them for everyone to see: flowers, costumes, elaborate signs and a surprising amount of commitment to the bit. High school is alive and well in Torrance.

Found something delightfully Torrance this week? Hit reply and send it our way!

​Feature your event. | Suggest an event.​

We’re wasting no time getting spooky. Downtown Torrance hosts the 10th annual Scaredown in Downtown Saturday, with its big trunk-or-treat, Halloween vendors, live entertainment, games, photo ops and plenty of costumed kids roaming the streets.

And this year, The Tide has a trunk of our own. Come find us, say hi, grab a treat and pick up a little Torrance fortune. 🔮

Saturday | 4–9 p.m. | Downtown Torrance | Free | Costumes highly encouraged.

Friday, October 2
​Lago Seco Park – South Bay Mommy Club’s Mommy Swap at 10 a.m. Bring gently used baby and kids clothes, toys, books, gear and even outgrown Halloween costumes to trade with other local families. Ivy Rae Coffee will be pouring coffee and matcha, and anything left unclaimed will be donated to Harbor Pregnancy Center.

Southeast Library – Family Storytime at 10:30 a.m. Bring the little ones for a morning of stories, songs and movement at this all-ages storytime.

North Torrance Library – Road to Avengers: Doomsday at 3:30 p.m. Start your MCU rewatch with the movie that kicked it all off: Iron Man. The library is screening essential Marvel films on the road to Avengers: Doomsday.

Mom Said Yes – LA Winter at 8:30 p.m. Female-fronted rock cover band LA Winter takes on five decades of favorites, from Fleetwood Mac and Joan Jett to Paramore, The Killers and The Cranberries.

🚨 One Friday heads-up: Torrance will test its outdoor warning sirens at 3 p.m. Expect a wailing siren, followed by “This is only a test” and chimes. So when Torrance suddenly gets very loud: all good.

​
​Saturday, October 3
​Wilson Park – Free Compost Giveaway at 8 a.m. Pick up free, locally made compost while you’re at the Farmers’ Market and get a few tips from LA Compost on putting it to work in your garden.

Home Depot – Witch Candy Box Kids Workshop at 9 a.m. Little builders can kick off October by making their own witch-shaped candy box at Home Depot’s free monthly kids workshop.

Absolution Brewing – Oktoberfest at 12 p.m. Bratwurst, currywurst and schnitzel are on the menu for Absolution’s free, all-ages Oktoberfest, along with limited-edition glasses and a stein-holding contest. And there are actual stakes: the winners advance to the California state competition, with a shot at the national finals.

Henderson Library – Improv at the Library at 2 p.m. Spend Saturday afternoon playing improv games and getting a few laughs in at this two-hour session led by Torrance Adult School improv instructor Rick Ramirez.

Walteria Library – Meet the Author: Jalpa Patel at 2 p.m. Meet local author and licensed social worker Jalpa Patel as she shares her new children’s book, Wizzy the Worldly Tree, in a special kid-focused author talk.

North Torrance Library – Mystery Book Group at 3 p.m. This month’s pick is Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin, about a tenacious widow who turns amateur sleuth when her grown daughter becomes a murder suspect.

West High – South Bay Invitational at 3 p.m. More than a dozen high school marching bands and color guards take over the football stadium for the 40th annual field show competition, with music, food and some seriously impressive formations.

Downtown Torrance – Scaredown in Downtown at 4 p.m.

Torrance Cultural Arts Center – SoCal Halal Food Fest at 4 p.m. Come hungry for a night market packed with halal food, desserts and drinks, plus shopping from local vendors.

Armstrong Theatre – Unleashed at 8 p.m. Writers, comedians, actors and storytellers take the stage with true stories about the animals they’ve loved, from rescue triumphs and pet mishaps to the companions who changed their lives. Expect laughs and a few tears, all on the eve of World Animal Day.

All Weekend
​Nearby: Manhattan Beach – Hometown Fair, all weekend. The 54th annual hometown tradition fills Live Oak Park and Dorsey Field Saturday and Sunday with 180+ arts-and-crafts booths, live music, nonprofit food and game booths, free kids activities and plenty of South Bay talent. Saturday kicks off with the 10 a.m. parade, and this year even includes a community Mahjong session. Free admission, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. both days.

Around Torrance – Pumpkin patch season begins. Mr. Jack O’ Lantern’s opens Friday on Prairie Avenue, while SouthBay Pumpkin Patch is already open near Macy’s Men at Del Amo with pumpkins, a corn maze, petting zoo, giant slides and cider. Pick your patch and call it fall.

Torrance Art Museum – Baker’s Dozen + B-LA-M. The new fall exhibitions are now open. Baker’s Dozen gathers 13 artists who caught the curators’ attention over the past year for a snapshot of contemporary art in Southern California, while B-LA-M brings together artists from Los Angeles and Berlin as part of an international exchange among artist-run spaces. Open Friday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

📅 Save the date: Old Torrance opens its doors. The Torrance Historical Society’s biennial Fall Tour of Historic Homes returns Oct. 10–11, with a self-guided peek inside five homes built between 1922 and 1936, from Spanish Colonial Revival to Tudor Revival.

Weather Forecast? Rude.
☀️ Fri 71°/86° Mostly Sunny
☀️ Sat 73°/95° Sunny
☀️ Sun 72°/91° Sunny

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🚨 Heat alert: An Extreme Heat Watch starts Friday morning and runs through next Thursday, with unusually hot temperatures expected across the L.A. coast and valleys. Lovely.

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