The following is a curated roundup of weekend events in Long Beach published every Wednesday on the Hi-lo/Long Beach Post. Have an event to share? Email [email protected] with “Things to Do” in the subject line.
Fingerprints is once again bringing iconic talent to the record store with an album signing with the Pixies. We’ve also found a few niche events this weekend, including martial arts movie screenings at the Art Theatre and a festival celebrating ube foods.
For our live music fans, the Long Beach Symphony is opening its classical season this Saturday with a solid show, plus we’ve also found a free concert at Lincoln Park. Our performance arts find for the week features a cirque show incorporating performance machinery, mainly by way of a giant windmill.
Get to scrollin’!
MARTIAL ARTS MOVIE NIGHT (Friday)
As part of the Art Theatre’s “Century of Cinema,” an ongoing event celebrating the history of movies, the theater is showing back-to-back screenings of the 1974 martial arts classics, “The Street Fighter” and its sequel “Return of the Street Fighter.”
Before the show, attendees can enjoy preshow entertainment with exclusive trailers, vintage ads, a cartoon and trivia with prizes. The screening is from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets cost $13.50 for adults, discounts are available for seniors, veterans and students. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
The Art Theatre is at 2025 E. Fourth St.
LONG BEACH SYMPHONY’S BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH (Saturday)
The Long Beach Symphony is opening its 2022-2023 season on Saturday, Oct. 1 with a trio of classical masterworks including Sergei Prokofiev’s “Classical Symphony,” Felix Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto,” and closing with the most well known of them all, Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5.”
Prior to the show, patrons can enjoy the symphony’s “Party on the Plaza” at 6:30 p.m. with a selection of food trucks, cocktails, fire pits, and lounge seating at the fountain area in front of the Terrace Theater. Then guests can venture inside the theater for the show, which starts at 8 p.m.
Ticket costs range from $32 to $62 and can most easily be purchased online. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
The Terrace Theatre is at 300 E. Ocean Blvd.
LONG BEACH UBE FESTIVAL (Saturday)
A festival that reveres ube, the purple-colored yam most commonly associated with Filipino cuisine, is hosting another celebration from 2-8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, in honor of its one-year anniversary in Long Beach.
The Long Beach Ube Festival will take place at event center Grey LB, with 15 ube food vendors selling the striking purple baked goods and desserts along with other local foods such as seafood from Mussels and Pearls and Smoked and Salted Barbeque.
Guests can also check out a marketplace featuring handmade gifts and wares from seven local businesses. Tickets cost $7 for attendees ages 13 and up if ordered online, click here. Tickets at the door will cost $12. Children 12 and younger may enter for free. To check out the complete list of participating vendors, click here.
Long Beach Ube Festival will be at Grey LB at 237 Long Beach Blvd. #Suite B.
ZEPHYR—A WHIRLWIND OF CIRCUS (Saturday)
Cirque Mechanics, an acrobatic entertainment company that’s made a name for itself by incorporating machines into its cirque shows, is performing its newest production “Zephyr—A Whirlwind of Circus” at the Carpenter Center Saturday, Oct. 1
The show was inspired by the mechanics of windmills and human’s capacity to harness natural energy, such as wind, over the centuries. The company has designed and built a performance windmill that will act as the centerpiece for the acrobatic show. You can catch a glimpse of what to expect by watching the video above.
Tickets for the performance cost $40, however, the Carpenter Center is offering a buy-one-get-one-free promotion. Use the promo code “CIRQUE” at checkout to redeem. Click here to purchase tickets.
The Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center is located on the Cal State Long Beach Campus at 6200 E. Atherton St.
SUNDAY PICNIC IN THE PARK & CONCERT (Sunday)
Bring a picnic blanket and snacks to Lincoln Park Sunday, Oct. 2 for an evening of music and poetry courtesy of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance.
The free sunset concert features local indie artists Kurt Sanchez with his band Kurt McGurt and Alyssandra Nighswonger with a poetry reading by Nancy Lynée Woo, a local poet and educator.
The event opens at 4 p.m. Kurt McGurt will perform at 4:30, followed by the poetry reading at 5:30. Alyssandra Nighswonger and her band will close out the concert at 6 p.m. Attendees are invited to hang out afterward and enjoy the rest of the park during sunset. Click here for more information.
Lincoln Park is located on the corner of Ocean Boulevard. and Pacific Avenue, or adjacent to the Billie Jean King Library at 200 W. Broadway.
THE PIXIES ALBUM SIGNING AT FINGERPRINTS (Sunday)
The ’90s alt-rock icons, the Pixies, are landing at Fingerprints record store Sunday, Oct. 2 to sign copies of their newest album, “Doggerel,” which drops Sept. 30.
This is the band’s eighth studio album, following their 2019 release of “Beneath the Eyrie.” The new album features recent singles, “There’s a Moon On”, “Vault of Heaven” and “Dregs of the Wine.”
The signing begins at 3 p.m. Those who purchase the Pixies’ limited edition yellow LP, here, or the deluxe CD, here, will get a spot on the Fingerprints RSVP guest list.
Fingerprints Music is at 420 E. Fourth St.
PHOTOGRAPHERS NIGHT (Sunday)
Professional and fledgling photographers get special access to the Aquarium of the Pacific Sunday, Oct. 2 to photograph its wildlife after-hours from 6-10 p.m.
Photographers will have the opportunity to take their time getting their shots and are welcome to bring their own flashes or lights. Those without can borrow from a selection of gear available during the event.
The event will also include meeting vendors, testing new equipment, attending an introductory workshop, and meeting like-minded photo enthusiasts.
Tickets cost $36.95 and may be purchased online, click here.
SPONSORED BY AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC
SOUTHEAST ASIA DAY (Saturday)
The Aquarium of the Pacific will celebrate its eighteenth annual Southeast Asia Day on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The festival’s program will highlight the beauty and diversity of the cultures of Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, and Indonesia. Guests can enjoy music, dance, and cultural craft demonstrations. The festival is included with general admission.
Click here to purchase online.
Aquarium of the Pacific is at 100 Aquarium Way.
SPONSORED BY AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC
THE CARBON CONVERSATION (Wednesday, Oct. 5)
As part of the Aquarium of the Pacific’s First Wednesdays event series, contributing writer Robert Gehorsam will talk about “The Carbon Almanac,” a definitive book about climate change that inspires people to take action.
As one of the co-authors on the book, Gehorsam is part of a unique, once-in-a-lifetime collaboration among hundreds of writers, thinkers, researchers, and illustrators. The group leveraged more than 1,000 datapoints and their individual talents, from scientific research to cartoon drawings, to show “what we know, what has come before, and what might happen next,” in terms of carbon’s impact on agriculture, biodiversity, energy, the economy, extreme weather events, human health, ocean acidity, and more.
The free event, which includes a complimentary copy of the book, live music and cash bar cocktails, takes place from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, in the Honda Pacific Visions Theater. Reservations are required and may be made online, click here, or by calling 562-590-3100. Parking is $8 with aquarium validation.
Aquarium of the Pacific is at 100 Aquarium Way.