SEPTEMBER, AROUND HERE
September has always been a bit of an in-between month along the coast.
The calendar says summer is winding down, but life here rarely gets the memo. The water is warm, afternoons still stretch into long evenings, and some of the year’s best local events are only just getting started.
Across San Clemente, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano, September brings together the kind of gatherings that say a lot about this corner of Southern California. Some have been part of the local calendar for decades. Others are newer traditions already finding their place.
There’s the 30th Annual Car Show filling downtown San Clemente with more than 250 classics. The Maritime Festival bringing tall ships, cannon battles and a little maritime history back to Dana Point Harbor. The 25th Annual San Clemente Skate Contest, where another generation gets its turn at a tradition that feels particularly at home in a surf town.
Music finds its way into the month, too. Jazz in the Garden brings Tony Guerrero to The Casino San Clemente’s courtyard. San Juan Capistrano closes out its Summer Nights series in Historic Town Center Park. Dana Point gets one final Concert in the Park overlooking the ocean at Salt Creek. And at the end of the month, Ohana Festival returns to Doheny State Beach for its tenth year, with Pearl Jam, Tyler Childers, Eddie Vedder & Friends and more.
Then there are the gatherings that are perhaps even more local. Toast to the Casa supports one of San Clemente’s most recognizable historic places, while Goody’s Tavern throws its third annual Locals Only Party with live music, food, raffles, giveaways and, naturally, a dunk tank.
Different events. Different generations. Different reasons for showing up.
But taken together, they tell you something about what it’s like to live here.
Because knowing a place isn’t only knowing its streets or neighborhoods. It’s knowing that downtown will fill with classic cars one Sunday in September. That tall ships will appear in the harbor. That thousands of people will gather at Doheny for music while a much smaller crowd gathers on a neighborhood patio a day later.
These are the things that become part of the rhythm of living somewhere. You go every year. You stumble onto something for the first time. You run into someone you know. Eventually, the calendar becomes familiar.
And that familiarity is part of what makes a place feel like home.
So here’s what’s happening around the Coastal Collective this September.
See the full September Calendar of Events here.
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