Manhattan Beach was nothing if not a sea of activity downtown Sunday as the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, World Famous Pumpkin Races, Trick or Treat, and fall crafts at the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium swung into action.

Well before the 9 a.m. start of the fundraising walk for education and The Friendship Circle, streets were closed and gear moved into position for the day's activities.

Beyond Sunday's action, some folks geared up in advance, gathering to plot their pumpkin race victory.

On Saturday, Mayor Wayne Powell joined others for a round of crafting, honing and creating their "most excellent" pumpkin racers.

"I expect to win like last year," said Powell of his heated competition against the MB fire department, police department and "The Cheater." "I engineered my pumpkin to be aerodynamically efficient, while still looking cool," he told DigMB.

For Powell, his entry into the pumpkin races was his fourth, two of them coming as mayor, including this year's pursuit of beating the competition.

In his typical no-nonsense style, Powell told DigMB, "It's not whether you win or lose, but who has the coolest pumpkin -- me!"

From what Facebook is telling us, he'll want to stick with his pumpkin being the "coolest" since reportedly MBPD took the race!