Topanga Days—the Canyon’s celebrated, one-of-a-kind music festival—is turning 50 this Memorial Day weekend and we have all the details. The full schedule of how to get there is on page 11, and don’t miss our inside look (page 13) at the Topanga Community Center volunteers whose tireless work makes this amazing three-day festival happen every year. This year’s festival is significant not only because it marks 50 years, but because it is a validation of this community’s indomitable spirit. Topangans will be coming together to celebrate music, family, creativity, and fun, despite the challenges so many have faced during the fire and its aftermath. See you there! Cover concept and design by Urs Baur.
It has been four months since the Palisades Fire changed everyone’s lives, four months after the fear and devastation, four months of life in and around a disaster zone. It’s also been four agonizing months of Topanga Canyon Boulevard being fully closed from GrandView to Pacific Coast Highway. That is changing. Caltrans is expanding daytime access from Topanga to PCH between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. providing access not only to school buses and parents transporting students to and from school, but also to Topanga residents with burn scar passes showing proof of residency, and to emergency responders and law enforcement personnel. The goal is to reopen both TCB and PCH to all by the end of May, although both reopenings will still involve delays, lane closures, a 25-mph speed limit, and in the case of TCB, nighttime full closures. Tuna Canyon will be closed once the boulevard reopens. Drivers need to be patient and expect delays, but at least the coast may soon be in reach again.
There’s another sign that things are slowly beginning to go back to normal, or at least settling into a new normal: the Topanga Beach Bus is back. For just $1 per trip, Topanga residents can travel on the bus through the road closures to Santa Monica and home again.
The bus runs seven days a week, but with only one trip in both directions a day—so, don’t miss the return trip. When the roads finally reopen, the beach bus will resume its usual three trips a day.
For more information on Topanga Beach Bus and its route and schedule, go to https://mcusercontent.com/5c8dabe8a1bb899103d17de83/files/534b86f0-0e71-7883-67d7-c8256e5749a3/TopangaCanyonBrochure_250421.pdf
One stop that is not currently on the Beach Bus route is the Topanga State Beach parking lot, which remains closed following the fire. Even if the beach was open, water quality remains a major concern. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health recently released a water quality warning for Topanga Canyon Beach, extending 100 yards up and down the coast from the lagoon. Santa Monica Beach is also experiencing high levels of bacterial contamination. Beach Bus passengers may want to avoid going into the water when they finally reach the beach. Check Heal the Bay’s beach report card before hitting the water: https://beachreportcard.org.
The road closures have complicated life in Topanga and put a major strain on local businesses, but the aftermath of the disaster is not stopping one of the Canyon’s most loved events from taking place. Topanga Days is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Topanga Days is the major fundraiser for the Topanga Community Center. It helps fund all of the programs for children, seniors, and everyone in between. Putting this event together is a major undertaking, one that is accomplished by volunteers. This year’s festival is going to be great! We have all the details in this special Topanga Days issue of TNT, including a handy schedule of events. We look forward to seeing you there. And, with any luck, Memorial Day this year will mark not only the unofficial start of summer, but the reopening of our roads.
We are welcoming three new voices in this issue, with a feature by Topanga Historical Society archivist and local author Pablo Capra, a guest column by new Topanga resident Andrew Parrott, who has also written for the Aspen Daily News, and a piece on the background of Topanga Days by our new intern, Daphne Huffman.
This May marks the Topanga New Times’ fifth anniversary. TNT got its start at the beginning of the pandemic, as a way to provide information and inspiration for Topanga and all of our neighboring communities in the Santa Monica Mountains during a time of extreme uncertainty. Over the past five years, we have grown to have an international readership that extends far beyond the boundaries of Topanga, but we are still rooted in the mountains we love.
We would like to take this opportunity, on our fifth birthday, to thank all of our amazing readers, advertisers, and contributors. We are so glad you’ve joined us on this adventure. Thank you for being there for us!
We are always glad to hear from our readers and from prospective contributors. If you have a comment to make or a story to tell, reach out to us at hello@topanganewtimes.com
Stay safe, be well.
