An organization that began with brooms and dustpans in 1978 has become a force in Ocean Beach, putting on some of San Diego’s largest and most-beloved events. The Ocean Beach MainStreet Association is celebrating 40 years of community involvement from residents and leaders in the business community, and is inviting all members to a month of celebration and a special Sundowner event to cap it off.
On Oct. 5, the Culture Brewing Tasting Room (4845 Newport Ave.) will feature the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association as the “Artist of the Month,” featuring OB memorabilia and a timeline of OBMA’s growth and community involvement since 1978. That event, honoring the art itself, runs from 5 to 9 p.m. and the art will hang throughout October. The event will feature a large Ocean Beach logo photo mosaic made of hundreds of smaller photos of our beautiful neighborhood, past OBMA T-shirts, and a video presentation highlighting the milestones of the organization. On Oct. 25, OBMA members are invited down to Culture Brewing for a special edition of the monthly Sundowner mixer. Members will receive limited-edition membership pins and can mingle with other OBMA members. Events like the OB Street Fair, OB Oktoberfest and the much-loved weekly OB Farmers Market are all staples of what Ocean Beach MainStreet Association brings to the community every year, but it didn’t start so big. In 1978, a group of volunteers saw sand and rubbish piling up in the business district and decided to do something about it. Out came the brooms to sweep the sidewalk, and OBMA was born. In 1978, the group boasted just 25 members, only three of which (The Black, Pacific Shores and Ocean Beach Hardware) are still in business. Today, a whopping 523 members in the 92107, 92106 and 92110 ZIP codes are proud to be members of the association. View the OBMA Timeline at oceanbeachsandiego.com/mainstreet-association/timeline.