This summer in San Pedro, talented chefs from more than 20 harbor-area restaurants will be whipping up delicious dishes including ocean-fresh seafood, during the 19th annual “Taste In San Pedro” (Aug. 4-5) in Point Fermin Park. Family fun includes kids’ arts and crafts, a Ferris wheel, and live music from alternative to Latin. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors 55+, military and children ages 4-17. Kids 3 and under are free. Food, beverage and activities are in exchange for Taste Tickets, which are $1 each. Billed as the world’s largest lobster fest, the Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival (Sept. 14-16) at Ports O’ Call Village features discount Maine lobster meals and a host of gourmet goodies, a pet parade, dancing, street performers, arts and crafts, tall ships and headliner entertainment. More than 13 tons of live lobsters are flown in for this annual event. Admission is $8 for adults and kids under 12 are free.
www.tasteinsanpedro.com
www.lobsterfest.com

Universal Studios Hollywood will be adding animated fun and excitement to their roster next year. A new highly anticipated theme park ride based on the blockbuster hit series, The Simpsons, is set to open in Spring 2008. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson – stars of TV’s longest running series – will ride along with guests in a new mega-attraction. Guests will be rocketed along with the Simpson family and experience a side of Springfield previously unexplored. The ride will be interpreted by thrill rides, dark rides and “live” shows that make up a new fantasy amusement park dreamed up by the show’s irritable Krusty the Clown. Universal’s award-winning creative team is collaborating with The Simpsons creator and executive producers. The ride will feature the show’s classic humor and many of its instantly recognizable characters - all voiced by the original actors. Currently the longest-running sitcom on television, the critically acclaimed series features characters that take traditional family life and turn it upside down. Exploding into a cultural phenomenon in 1990, The Simpsons has remained one of the most visible and marketable series domestically and internationally.
www.universalstudioshollywood.com

Given the success of the Union Station and long-established Van Nuys FlyAway routes, LAWA launched a non-stop LAX FlyAway service in Westwood this month. The FlyAway in Westwood (a drop-off and pick-up location only) is located on Kinross Avenue, two blocks west of Westwood Boulevard. Parking for immediate drop-off/pick-up of passengers is available in UCLA Parking Structure 32 adjacent to the FlyAway bus stop. The non-stop FlyAway bus service from Union Station to all nine LAX passenger terminals recently celebrated its one-year anniversary, with an annual total of 250,000 riders (more than three times the number predicted for the first year). The 20-mile ride uses freeway carpool lanes and averages 35 minutes. The Union Station FlyAway averages nearly 685 passengers a day. As of July 1, the one-way fare for adults will be $4 at all three FlyAway locations. The one-way fare for children age 2-12 remains the same at $2 and free for children under 2 years.
www.lawa.org