District Blog

Pearl Hour, your friendly neighborhood cocktail bar, is now not only delivering bottles and cocktail kits to your door, Wednesday - Sunday during the pandemic, we are now also open Saturday and Sunday 2pm-8pm, as a retail bottle shop!

Here at 214 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, we have amaro and prosecco, rare whiskeys, Pearl Hour favorites, citrus, house made syrups and bitters, a limited batch of huckleberry shrub and, last but not least, the good ice! Katie will be here to answer questions and put selections together for you. Pay by cash or Venmo. Masks are required to enter, and you must be age 21 or older - let's prove we can have nice things, everybody.

Welcome to Lighthouse District in the News, an occasional post featuring recent news articles on Monterey's Lighthouse District. Please click the link below to read the article.

Tutto Buono Eataliano Opens in New Monterey
by Raul Nava
Edible Monterey Bay, 07/28/20

Have you been hanging on to your old bike helmet for too long? The Lighthouse District's newest retail store, Epicenter Cycling, located at 230 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, is here to help you find a new helmet that protects your noggin and best meets your needs.

It’s important to replace your bike helmet every 3-5 years (depending on use) or if it’s been in a crash, whether you see cracks in it or not. This is because some of the materials used to make it degrade over time. UV light degrades the outer shell, making it brittle, and a weak shell may compromise the structural integrity of the foam.

Keep in mind, too, that helmets are constantly being improved, so a current new model will keep you much safer than that three-year-old, rarely-worn one in your closet. Epicenter invites you to check out the new Bontrager WaveCel technology at our shop, which is 48x more effective than standard EPS foam at preventing concussions from common cycling accidents. You can read all about it in Epicenter's newly updated Guide to Bike Helmets.

It’s often chaotic, messy, and frustrating at the beginning of a project because we don’t know exactly how to make fresh ideas into reality. But every time we do a project, we learn something new, experience the unexpected, and feel good at the end. That’s why it’s worth working on it!

If you are hesitant to start making your ideas come true, please contact Mai Ryuno at Play Full Ground about her Creativity Based Learning Program, which provides guidance and support on your creative journey and teaches creative problem solving. Let Mai help you find a change of perspective and discover your potential along the way.

Nacho Bizness 2.0 is coming... But for now you can purchase tees, hoodies, and caps to support your favorite nacho joint on the Monterey Peninsula and rep your spot!

At our online store, we're selling fitted men's and women's short sleeve tees and a unisex hooded sweatshirt with the Nacho Bizness logo, plus beanies, flat-billed caps, and zip-up hoodies. Get yours today!

On The Beach Surf Shop, located at 693 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, is carrying Barefoot's Hawaiian print face masks! These masks have three layers - two layers of Hawaiian print fabric and one layer of pellon lining - with elastic ear bands for comfort and ease of fit.

On The Beach is all about spreading aloha not germs. We want OTB families to be safe and live with aloha! Stop by the shop and pick up your mask.

Available now at Cypress Boutique Monterey: a new clip-on eye shield face mask with elastic ear bands. Located at 800 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, Cypress has a good selection of face masks and hand sanitizers for the whole family. Stop in today and stay safe out there, people! We're open Tuesday - Sunday, 11:30am-6:30pm.

What is kinder than a beautiful bubble bath? Bathing welcomes the time and space to pause and nourish our body, our skin, and our soul. To allow oneself to break, breathe and to be, Lilify introduces our newest line of small batch, signature bubble bath.

Created in collaboration with and made locally by Connie Mardon, our bubble bath features the same exquisite scent blends as our beloved body lotions. Herby, earthy, and unique, our blends offer careful aromatic pairings created to relax and uplift.

Now available online and at our store at 281 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.

What month is it? The month that Hula's Island Grill starts getting the best organic rhubarb and strawberries to top their Brioche Bread Pudding! Life is looking up.

Hula's is now open for take-out and outdoor patio dining at 622 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey. Please call for a reservation if you want to dine there, 831-655-4852.

Gracie Jiu-JItsu Monterey invites you to join us for our Women Empowered Class, taught every Wednesday at 6pm and Friday at 8am on Zoom. Learn essential Jiu-Jitsu techniques in the safety of your living room. No mats and no partners are necessary. If you're interested in trying out a class, please contact Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

In this 15-lesson program, we'll teach you how to neutralize the 20 most common attacks ranging from having your hair grabbed to being pinned to the ground by a weapon-bearing assailant. Each one-hour Women Empowered lesson addresses two techniques. You can start the program at any time and participate in any class without previous experience. The techniques in the Women Empowered program employ leverage, technique, and timing, so anyone, regardless of age or athletic ability, can make them work against larger opponents.

Did you know that locally-owned Mattress Nation carries bedroom, dining room, and living room furniture in addition to mattresses? Whether you recently moved, need to update, or are ready for a change, you can view their selection of furniture on their website.

Mattress Nation is located at 296 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.

Are you a cook, dishwasher, or sous chef who has lost your job because of a restaurant closure during the coronavirus pandemic? You can apply for assistance here from the Covid-19 Relief Fund from the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Culinary Federation. You must show proof that you were employed in Monterey County for at least 6 months. Relief can be provided to your PayPal account or by check to ensure that you have access to basic necessities (food, housing, transportation, etc.).

Want to donate to the Covid-19 Relief Fund? Please click here. The Monterey Bay Chapter of the ACF is donating a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $6,000.

The Monterey County Film Commission board of directors has elected officers for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Gary Bolen will serve as president, with Cheryl Savage as vice president, Julia Avery-Shapiro as secretary, and Sandi Austin, treasurer. Former board president Garland Thompson will serve as the board chairperson.

Bolen, a SAG actor and the retired chair of the Monterey Peninsula College Theater Department, has been a board member for more than three years, and previously served as vice president. He lives in Oak Hills in north Monterey County.

The film commission, which has an office in New Monterey's Lighthouse District, works to boost the economy throughout Monterey County by attracting and assisting on-location film production, handling inquiries and making referrals to crew and local goods and services. Each year an average of $4 million in revenue comes to local communities from more than 100 productions filming throughout the county.

The board is seeking additional volunteer board members with nonprofit or business experience from all parts of Monterey County, especially the Salinas Valley area. For more information, visit our website or call 831-646-0910.

Your friendly neighborhood bar, Pearl Hour, is now a mobile bottle shop and cocktail kit delivery service again, Thursday - Sunday. (We also sell non-alcoholic drink mixes.) Let us know what we can put together for you! There's no minimum for delivery - to order, just text us at 831-229-4132, message us on Instagram, or use our online order form and it will be delivered the next day.

Thank you for supporting and loving our new business during the first closure and launch as a bottle delivery service, during our 3 days back open as a neighborhood bar during a pandemic, and from now until we're permitted to open the doors of the bar again at 214 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.

Play Full Ground has received multiple inquiries about our sardine pillows (#happymontereysardines) lately, so here are some answers to your questions, my friends!

Do you sell the sardine pillows?
Yes! They come in 3 sizes: small ($30), medium ($50), and large ($80). Please visit the Support page on our website for more information.

Do you ship?
Yes! We ship within the U.S. (unless you are willing to pay for the expensive international shipping or secret inexpensive global shipping...please let us know!)

For the U.S. shipping, we use USPS 1-2 day flat rate for the small/medium pillows. For the large pillows, we use other carriers and it takes 3-7 days. (It’s not so cheap as sardines are bulky and we are a small business without a lot of shipping, so we don't get a big discount. Sorry! If you have any inexpensive shipping tips, please share them with us - we love to learn.)

Can I pick up my sardines?
Yes. Play Full Ground is currently closed for walk-in business, but we can arrange your pickup at the studio at 550 Lighthouse Avenue, Suite. E, in Monterey.

Do you deliver?
Maybe...depending on the place! If it's somewhere between Pacific Grove and Marina (and Carmel...maybe Carmel Valley)...the answer is yes and it's free.

Which types of payment do you take?
We accept payment by credit card on our website. We also have accounts with PayPal ([email protected]) and Venmo (@playfullground) if these are more convenient for you. Also, you can pay with cash or check upon your pick up at Play Full Ground.

Can I have a sardine pillow right now?
I, Play Full Ground owner Mai Ryuno, make your sardines to order to share happiness, joy, and creativity with you! Please allow me a few days to make your sardine pillows before sending them to you.

How can I contact you?
Please feel free to email me if you have questions that are not answered here. Thank you all for your love and support!