Are you a lobster lover? If so, the original Lobster Festival Long Beach hosts every summer is perfect for you! What is Lobster Fest? It is a three-day event that features lobster prepared in every way you could think of. Plus, live music and stands for you to shop at. It is truly a fun family-friendly event.
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What to Know About Lobster Fest Before You Go
Tickets
It is a ticketed event. There are a few different ways to save on your ticket. I was able to get a free ticket through the amazing Surkus App. If you live in the LA area I highly recommend signing up for the app. You’ll get free admission to fun events, and occasionally the app will pay you to go to events.
Discounted tickets for the event were also available on Goldstar. If you have not used Goldstar before I highly encourage you to check it out. Goldstar is a great tool to get deals on a lot of fun events. You can find tickets up to 50% or more! Sometimes they will have free tickets and you just have to pay the service fee.
Depending on what type of food you plan on getting at the event buying your ticket directly from the Lobster Festival website might be the best way to go. You can purchase a bundle ticket and food package for $30. Considering I paid $28 for the lobster feast meal you will be saving money. Unless you’re able to score the free admission via Goldstar as I did. You can click here to find out if buying your ticket directly will be the best deal for you.
We spoke with LA adventurer Lena from Lenazilla on Instagram for the LA Dreaming Podcast all about pop up experinces in LA. You can listen to the podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, or Podbean.
Parking
The main parking lot for the event cost $15. I was able to park across the street where you pay 75 cents for every 15 minutes. My boyfriend and I decided we most likely would not stay for longer than two hours so $6 parking seemed like a pretty good deal to us. That close to the beach and parking for less than $10 feels like a win. Consider how long you’ll stay at the event when deciding where to park. If you plan on staying for several hours then the main parking lot might be the best option for you.
What to Eat
I was happy that they let me bring in my own drink as that was one less thing I would need to spend money on. Like most festivals, the food was not cheap and some of the stands were cash only. There were quite a few things that I wanted to try like lobster fries but gosh lobster is expensive! After walking around to check out the various stands we decided to purchase one lobster feast for $28. It included a full lobster, a dinner roll, coleslaw, and a slice of watermelon. While that felt expensive it was one of the best deals as far as how much food you got for your money. By comparison, a tiny cup of macaroni with a little bit of lobster cost $15.
Originally our plan was to each get something different so we could try more things but if we had gotten everything we wanted we easily would have spent close to $75. That was something that I was not willing to do. So we split the lobster feast and got ice cream down the road after we left.
What Else You Should Bring
There is very little shade at the event so I recommend bringing a hat and sunscreen. Tables and chairs were set up for people to eat at but everyone was packed in so tightly that we opted for chairs without a table which made eating a challenge. Some people brought their own chairs and picnic blankets which I will definitely do next year. The music was my favorite part of the festival so if I would have been more prepared with what I brought I would have been down to stay for longer.
When we left the event we drove a few minutes further down the road to the beach to catch the sunset. If you have never been to the event before but like lobster, I recommend checking it out.
If you enjoy checking out food-related events be sure to go to the 626 Night Market when it returns next summer.
