[EDITOR'S NOTE: HaveAGreaterWeekend is your preparedness guide for the most-important days of your life---the weekend. Suggestions are welcome, so long as you send them at least three weeks before the event---and never forget who makes the final call.]

If you are anywhere but Fourth Street’s Retro Row today at noon, consider yourself doomed to a rest-of-your-lifetime of giving yourself what-the-hell and explaining that you missed the grand opening of Long Beach’s first-ever parklet—unless you’re a big, fat liar.

Yep, it’s all about the parklet, an itsy-bitsy piece of green space claimed from a place that used to be curbside parking and accessorized with such chillaxing elements as planters, trees, benches, café tables, fountain(s), artwork, sculptures and/or bicycle parking—or in this particular case, a plate of birria.

That’s the specialty-of-the-house at Lola’s Mexican Cuisine, the house that fronts the parklet at 2030 E. 4th Street, across the street from the Art Theatre. Three restaurants have been permitted to construct a parklet in a parking space in front of their business. Each parklet will add approximately 20 additional seats to the respective restaurant and contribute to an active streetscape.  

Long Beach based its parklet concept and process onSan Francisco’s ‘Pavement to Parks’ program.  If the pilot program is successful, City officials hope to promote the concept in other business corridors.

But this is the first. So be there. Or just say that you were. 

GRAND OPENING OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S FIRST PARKLET • LOLA’S MEXICAN CUISINE •2030 E FOURTH STREET • LONG BEACH • NOON • FREE

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bullyproof BULLY?? PULP IT!!!

Literally beating a bully at his own game before he or she can play it isn’t precisely the message that will be sent to the young participants in the two Bully-Proofing Workshops being offered Saturday afternoon at two Long Beach locations.

Actually, the message is more like … hmmm … well … actually, the press release isn’t explicitly clear about what the workshop instructors—identified as from the Power of One Institute for Self-Defense—are going to instill in the children.

But the tone of the release sounds pretty sure that they’re going to need it.

“Did you know that every school day an estimated 160,000 students in the U.S. are too afraid to go to school because of bullying? In fact, six out of 10 American children are bullied or witness bullying every single day.”

The release also sounds pretty sure that the Bully-Proofing training is going to work.

“Our ‘Starve the Bully Method’ workshops give our local grade school, middle school, high school and college students several non-aggressive tools to stay safe. We teach them to recognize bullying behavior and stop it in its tracks before often-irreversible mental or physical damage is done. Participants learn smart, safe, and non-physical ways to avoid conflict and get the help they need, right when they need it.”

BULLY-PROOFING WORKSHOPS POWER OF ONE INSTITUTES FOR SELF-DEFENSE • TWO CLASSES, BOTH SATURDAY AFTERNOON • RESERVATIONS REQUIRED, CALL 562.997.2987 • CLASS ONE: 4732 E PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY, LONG BEACH 90804, 1 PM • CLASS TWO: 3821 LONG BEACH BLVD, LONG BEACH 90807, 3 PM • BOTH CLASSES FREE