Rock the Block

I’m not entirely sure what the purpose of Rock the Block was, outside of causing extra traffic into Half Moon Bay. We hadn’t known Rock the Block was going on, but my dad and I were aiming to go wine tasting along the strip while my mom picked up some biscotti from a different tasting room.
This looks like an event that mostly appeals to the locals. There were some booths promoting local businesses and nonprofits, as well as (I believe) government agencies. I also saw a lot of signs regarding the upcoming elections.
There wasn’t any booth that particularly caught my eye. I imagine this place would be a bit of fun for small children, as there was a bouncy slide, a face painting booth (I think, as I did see a kid walking around with face paint), and some other kid-​friendly attractions. The older crowd might enjoy the music and random arts and crafts stalls.
Fortunately most of the businesses were open during the event, and it was just fun to walk around and people watch while wandering down the street. I’m not sure if it makes up for the traffic or the difficult parking situation, however.
Overall, this is probably an event the tourist crowd and out-​of-​towners might want to just pass on.

We hit the tail end of the festival this year so maybe my perception of it isn’t as accurate as it would have been if I’d arrived sooner… but my poor toes are still recovering from being run over by strollers at the Pumpkin Festival, so I was a little wary of coming during peak-​crowd hours…
As far as I understand, the festival is put on by the Chamber of Commerce each year to boost the presence of local businesses and programs. So the booths we saw set up in the middle of Main Street were less craft-​y and more business-​y than those at the Pumpkin Festival. There was a bunch of booze, food, music, and a cute demo by some high-​kicking little kids trying to bust wooden blocks outside the Kuk Sool Won school… but it really didn’t seem like too much was going on. Maybe it was just the time of day? Oh well. Next year we’ll make an effort to show up sooner and scope things out. Good or bad, I do want to support these little local events as much as possible, because they’re a big part of what makes HMB so special.

Heads up. When the poster says «booths from local businesses» it does not mean local artisans selling their pottery, textiles and whatnot. This is a Chamber of Commerce trade show, nothing more. There are informational booths from businesses for whom «local» in some cases seemed to be a rather elastic term. There are giveaways and contests, just like at any trade show, plus music food and beer to draw people in, but you won’t find shopping or good entertainment here. I for one don’t like my block parties feeling like a stroll through the yellow pages, being advertised to left and right. I turn off the TV to get away from that. The locals seem to like it though. There are always a lot of happy people drinking their tiny $ 5 beers and dancing to the mediocre live music.