Hey, neighbor!

There’s sunscreen in the air, strawberries at the farmers’ market, and at least one group chat trying to coordinate a backyard BBQ that absolutely no one has committed to yet.

Summer’s basically here. And Torrance already knows it. ☀️

Somehow, in just a few weeks, this little newsletter has already started to become something. Since launch, we’ve sent five Tide issues (!), including:

🌊 The farmers’ market manager behind one of Torrance’s favorite weekly rituals
🌊 A teacher helping teens learn the kind of money skills that most adults wish they’d learned in high school
🌊 The South Bay musicians who created a 36-year community music tradition​
🌊 The neighbor who quietly transformed an overgrown park into one of Torrance’s most meaningful community spaces ​
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Plus: surf contests, goat yoga, romance book trucks, beer anniversaries, hidden gems, beach reads, summer playlists, and enough iced lattes to legally classify this newsletter as coastal.

The best part has been hearing from you.

The messages. The recommendations. The “I’m learning so much about this neighborhood” replies.

The Tide is already starting to feel like what we hoped it would: A way to feel more connected to this place we call home.

How to make summer feel special (Even If You’re Still Very Much Working) For 18 years of our lives, summer meant something. Last day of school. Backpacks shoved into closets. Popsicles at 2 p.m. for absolutely no reason. Time stretching wide and golden. And then adulthood arrives and suddenly, the calendar notifications simply continue. Work doesn’t pause. Laundry still multiplies. Someone always needs groceries. Summer can start to feel suspiciously like regular life…just warmer. But even if we’re not disappearing on a three-month vacation anytime soon, summer can still feel special with a little intention. Here's our ideas... 1. Make a Summer Bucket List Not a productivity list. A fun list. Elementary school style. Like: Try three new Torrance coffee shops Read two books near water Stay at the beach until the sweater weather kicks in Let the kids get unnecessarily wet Take the long way home with the windows down Celebrate something tiny on a random Thursday Crossing things off still hits at any age. 2. Eat Outside More Than You Think You “Should” Tuesday tacos on the patio count. Saturday breakfast burritos at the park count. Even iced coffee on your front steps counts. There’s something about eating outside that makes life feel at least 12% more cinematic. 3. Pick One Weeknight to Romanticize Light the candle. Use the “good” glasses for your Spindrift. Play music while you cook. Make the giant summer salad. Summer magic tends to hide in very ordinary Tuesdays. 4. Swim Like You Mean It Not ankle-deep. Not “watching the kids.” Actually get in. The ocean. The pool. Your friend’s pool you keep saying you’ll visit. Let your hair get wet, and see what it unlocks. 5. Create One Tiny Summer Tradition Sunday ice cream walks. Tuesday farmers’ market flowers. Backyard movie nights. A standing sunset drive playlist. Traditions don’t need to be elaborate to become meaningful. Let yourself chase that last-day-of-school feeling again.

• 1 | Market strawberries: We are fully in our Torrance Farmers Market era right now, specifically the strawberries that somehow taste dramatically better than grocery store strawberries. Peak May/June activity is buying way too many with every intention of making something wholesome and then eating half the basket in the car.
• 2 | Beach reads: I’ve reached the point in the year where I want all books to involve either coastal towns, complicated friendships, or someone dramatically rethinking their life near water. Bonus points if there’s a slightly emotionally unavailable love interest. Currently living in Dolly's world.

• 3 | Summer soundtrack: The unofficial song of the month is anything that makes you want to drive down PCH with the windows down, pretending you’re in a Nancy Meyers movie. Something like “Feels Like Summer” by Childish Gambino. Here's the playlist. You'll want your windows down immediately.
• 4 | Current uniform: I’m rotating between oversized button-downs, Blue Bird Gazelles, and the same pair of sunglasses that permanently live in my car cupholder. We’re aiming for ‘coastal mom running errands’ this summer. Don't forget the sunscreen.​

☀️ Most clicked link this month? The South Torrance listing half this newsletter briefly considered uprooting their lives for.

🌊 Joyce Chan
​The woman quietly making the Torrance Farmers’ Market feel like a weekly neighborhood reunion. ​

🌊 Andy Hill + Renee Safier
​The musicians behind Hard Rain and Dylanfest, the beloved Torrance tradition turning lawn chairs and Bob Dylan songs into community for more than 30 years.

🌊 Rosita Oey
​The North High teacher behind Financial Algebra — the class helping teens learn the kind of money skills most adults wish they’d learned in high school.

🌊 Jenna Christensen
​The neighbor helping transform Seaside Heroes Park into a place built around memory, care, and community.

🇺🇸 Armed Forces Day reminded us of something important
​People here care deeply about tradition, community, and showing up for one another.

⚽ The World Cup energy is officially building
​Between hometown AYSO pride, soccer exhibits, local watch parties, and kickoff events around town, Torrance is fully leaning into its soccer roots this summer.

🏓 Pickleball courts are officially on the way
​Torrance continues its transformation into the unofficial capital of “Wait…should we start playing pickleball?”

📚 Your library does more than you think
​Books, yes. But also park passes, summer reading programs, workshops, community spaces, and apparently the occasional life improvement.

🌹 Rose Parade prep has already begun
​Which feels impossible, considering it was just January approximately six business days ago.

🍳 Home kitchen businesses may expand
​Meaning more opportunities for local cooks and neighborhood food concepts to grow right here in Torrance.

"This is so exciting and FINALLY something that is more local to us and this community!"

“This is such a great resource!”

“I forwarded this to three people immediately.”

You should probably know, we're framing these.

🌊 The World Cup officially kicks off — and Torrance is already getting in on the energy with watch parties, soccer celebrations, and hometown AYSO pride everywhere you look.

🌊 End-of-school fun: splash pads, summer kickoffs, graduation season, and all the “what day is it anymore?” energy that comes with Maycember turning into summer.

🌊 The best summer reading programs, local library happenings, and freebie-filled ways to keep kids (and maybe adults) reading all season long.

🌊 Our guide to the best low-key summer nights in the South Bay — sunset concerts, easy patio dinners, beach walks, neighborhood hangs, and the kind of evenings you accidentally wish lasted forever.

🌊 More locals worth knowing, hidden gems worth wandering into, and tiny reminders that Torrance in summer just hits different.

Til then, here’s to slower evenings, good people, and noticing May while it’s here. ☀️

Pass The Tide Along 🌊

If this issue made you feel a little more connected to Torrance, forward it to one person who’d love it too.

The Tide is growing neighbor by neighbor — and every share genuinely helps. 🫶