The Arts
HAVE-A-GREATER-WEEKEND
Friday, May 18 Think Pink Kick off Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Weekend at the 5th annual Pink Party in the East Village Arts District. This official Pre-Pride event hosted by the one-and-only Jewels Long Beach will feature a Drag Diva contest, DJ Barry Weaver spinning dance music, outdoor bars by Hamburger Mary’s and [...]
HAVE-A-GREATER-WEEKEND
THURSDAY, MAY 10 One of the best products ever to come out of Chicago (along with deep dish pizza and Schwinn bicycles), This American Life, the award-winning weekly radio show hosted by Ira Glass, will be performed on stage in NYC this Thursday and beamed live via satellite to more than 500 select movie theaters. [...]
BELLFLOWER WILL WAIT FOR ITS MASCOT ‘TIL THE COW COMES HOME
Belle the Cow, the massive bronze mascot of the City of Bellflower, finally has a home—a spot near the trailhead of the city’s bike-and-pedestrian path, where Woodruff Ave., Flora Vista St. and Flower St. intersect—and tentative plans are to move her in within the next six months, according to a story by Arnold Adler in [...]
BEYOND GREATER: BRUTALISM’S BACKSTABBERS … ET TU, LONG BEACH?
A New York government building designed in the Brutalism style of archetecture---just like the Long Beach Civic Center (above)---is being considered for demolition ... a frequent topic for this building in Long Beach. Why? Among other things, people hate it.
HAVE-A-GREATER-WEEKEND: SEE “THE ARTIST” AT THE ART BEFORE CINEMATHEQUE’S OSCAR PARTY
[Editor's note: This spontaneous Have-A-Greater-Weekend recommendation comes from a regular GreaterLongBeach.com reader who calls him/herself by the initials DWR in the comment sections. Such submissions are always appreciated. Also, for the record, GreaterLongBeach.com is the media sponsor of the Long Beach Cinematheque's current membership drive.] By DWR I saw The Artist at the Art Theatre [...]
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP THE GOOD TIMES ROLL SATURDAY AT MARDI GRAS
Volunteers are still needed to assist Saturday—that’s tomorrow—at Long Beach’s annual celebration of Mardi Gras—which is French for, “Fat Tuesday,” and which in Long Beach apparently means, “A Tuesday so fat that we celebrate it on Saturday.” “We still need a significant number of volunteers to help out,” wrote Mike Kamer, the Volunteer Coordinator for [...]
NICK SCHOU OF OC WEEKLY TO DISCUSS CONTROVERSIAL LB MEDPOT STORY ON GREATER LB RADIO WEDNESDAY
Award-winning reporter and author Nick Schou, whose current OC Weekly cover story about medpot dispensaries in Long Beach also serves as a disturbing case study of the institutional culture at City Hall, will be the featured guest Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. on KBEACH.org.Schou and Wielenga, [...]
BIXBY PARK’S TACTFUL ACTIVIST CLAUDIA SCHOU AND DODGEBALL’S RETURN ON GREATER LB RADIO WEDNESDAY
Claudia Schou, whose movement to rehabilitate Bixby Park is either disproving the sad-but-truism that “You can’t fight city hall” or completely disregarding it (see, the woman doesn’t want to fight), will discuss the inspiration and effectiveness of tactful activism tactics at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga. The second half [...]
TO DO TODAY: THE SHORT LIST
Three things one person can do in one day: STEAMPUNK’D: Mixed-media art show that doesn’t wonder, “What if Ashton Kutcher did that show in the 1880’s?” Warehouse 1333, LB, 11am-7pm, Free. STAND UP FOR COMEDY: Debut of Long Beach Port of Comedy show, Club Cohiba, LB, 7 p.m., $10. MARATHON PREP: Early registration for [...]
LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR ‘MERRY GENTLEMAN’ ON AT LB SYMPHONY HOLIDAY CONCERT TODAY AT 2
No, dude, I don’t know if there is a dress code for the Long Beach Symphony’s exquisite presentation of holiday music, which—and I’m guaranteeing this, without even knowing you—at several points is going to feature musical notes in combinations that will function like sonic access codes to some of the most resonant moments of your life. [...]
PROMOTER SAYS CITY’S DEMANDS WEAKENED ZOMBIE WALK, LEFT HIM 40K IN DEBT
In an interview with Logan Crow that will be featured tonight on 'Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga,' the promoter of last Saturday's (Oct. 29) Zombie Walk charges that incessant demands and fees by the City of Long Beach diminished the event and left him $40,000 in debt. Listen tonight at 7 p.m. on KBEACH.org
CITY PROSECTUTOR HAUBERT DISCUSSES EARLY RELEASE OF PRISONERS ON GREATER LONG BEACH RADIO TONIGHT
As the first of thousands of former inmates of California state prisons arrive in Greater Long Beach—released early by order of the U.S. Supreme Court because of overcrowding—Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert and criminology/sociology professor Dr. LaTanya Skiffer of Cal State Dominguez Hills will discuss potential problems, opportunities and strategies on tonight’s edition of [...]
TONIGHT! RICKY HARRIS’ COMEDY BENEFIT FOR V.I.P. RECORDS AT LAUGH FACTORY
Comedian Ricky Harris, who 20 years ago was among a crew of kids who passed through V.I.P. Records on their way to stardom, will host a benefit show at The Laugh Factory this Sunday at 8 p.m. in hopes of helping to save Long Beach’s iconic record shop.
OCCUPYLONGBEACH AND GREGGORY MOORE WILL OCCUPY GREATER LONG BEACH RADIO TONIGHT AT 7 O’CLOCK
Two representatives of OccupyLongBeach, a spinoff of the social-justice movement that began on Wall Street last month, will be featured guests on Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga tonight at 7 p.m. on KBEACH.org, the online radio station at Cal State Long Beach. The program will open with a long-awaited visit from Greggory Moore—yep, [...]
V.I.P. RECORDS EPISODE OF GREATER LONG BEACH RADIO NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE AND VIA PODCAST
Anyone who missed last Thursday’s special V.I.P. Records episode of Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga can now listen to the program at any time of any day via computer or as a podcast downloaded to a personal device. Simply follow this link to the website of KBEACH.org, the Long Beach State online radio [...]
V.I.P. RECORDS FOUNDER KELVIN ANDERSON—AND ALEX CHERIN?—ON GREATER LONG BEACH RADIO TONIGHT
Kelvin Anderson of V.I.P. Records, who will soon close the neighborhood store that launched the worldwide phenomenon of West Coast hip-hop in the mid-1990s, will be the featured guest tonight on Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga. The weekly hour-long program begins at 7 p.m. on KBEACH.org, the online radio station at Cal State [...]
JOHNSON RECALL ORGANIZER ON ‘GREATER LONG BEACH RADIO’ AT 7 PM
Kate Braid, a founder of the Long Beach Rage Against the Machine Working Group (LB RAM) that has endorsed the recall of 7th district Long Beach City Council member James Johnson, will be the featured guest this evening on Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga. The hour-long program goes live at 7 p.m. on [...]
EX-PROSECUTOR TELLS ‘GREATER LONG BEACH RADIO’ WHY LEGAL SYSTEM GOES EASY ON COPS’ ILLEGALITY
Attorney Mark Cabaniss, who has authored two piercingly clear pieces of analysis and perspective about the Kelly Thomas case—the fatal beating of a homeless schizophrenic man by six Fullerton Police Department officers on July 5—expands upon the themes of those articles in the Sept. 1 episode of Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga. • [...]
ON GREATER LONG BEACH RADIO: COUPLE WHOSE CASTLE WAS BLASTED BY LBPD
Jonathan Cabrera and Elizabeth Bustamante were just back from church and preparing for bed just before midnight on May 14 when Long Beach Police Department officers opened fire on them in their central-city home, wounding Cabrera. On this week's Greater Long Beach Radio, the couple recounts the horrific details of that night and shares their hopes for transforming it into a positive experience.
QUEEN MARY STARS IN LATE-NIGHT TV MOVIE, ‘LORD JEFF,’ TONIGHT, 1 AM
This TV viewing tip isn’t for everybody—demographics include an obsession with the Queen Mary, a tolerance for Mickey Rooney, a subscription to the TCM (Turner Classic Movies) cable network, as well as, insomnia. For those who qualify, however, tonight’s middle-of-the-night showing of the 1938 film, Lord Jim, is can’t-miss appointment television. It begins at 1 [...]
HOW NOW, BRONZE COW? BELLFLOWER COUNCIL IS UDDERLY CONFUSED
Although it’s been less than two years since the Bellflower City Council voted to spend $95,000 on a slightly larger-than-life bronze sculpture of a dairy cow, now that the big ol’ bovine—nicknamed “Belle”—is about to come out of the foundry, nobody seems to remember where they intended to put her. City Manager Mike Egan has been doing [...]
HOPE & FREEDOM FILM FESTIVAL IS A GOOD FIT WITH PRIDE WEEKEND
The Hope and Freedom Film Festival returns to the Art Theatre this Saturday (May 21), and in its second year it shares the same weekend as the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival. That’s appropriate—according to its website, the mission of the Hope and Freedom Film Festival is “to help create a society where [...]
LONG BEACH POST PUBLISHER SHAUN LUMACHI A GUEST ON GREATER LONG BEACH RADIO THURSDAY AT 8 P.M.
The second printed edition of the Long Beach Post has hit the streets—for now, very specific streets—as publisher Shaun Lumachi continues a march toward what he predicts will be media dominance of Long Beach. What does that mean? “The Long Beach Post will be Long Beach’s most-read media publication by Jan. 1, 2015,” Lumachi asserts. OK, [...]
FEELING FIRSTY? THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY!
Let’s see … you’ve got the return of Beer & Politics with City Manager Pat West talking about Long Beach’s road (or sharrow) to bike-friendliness, an opportunity to make a mandala (or at the least, discover what the hell a “mandala” is), a chance to witness the one-year-anniversary renewal of wedding vows by Laura and [...]
UPDATED: 1,000 TIX TO NATE DOGG MEMORIAL AVAILABLE TODAY BY PHONE
One thousand tickets to Saturday’s otherwise-private memorial service for Long Beach hip-hop pioneer Nate Dogg in the Queen Mary Dome are available by telephone today on a first-come, first-served basis. To order a ticket, you must call (562) 570-6147 before 3 p.m. today (Friday, March 25). To use it Saturday, you must have a valid [...]
WILL DOWNEY’S ECONOMIC OVERHAUL MEAN ANYTHING WITHOUT ARTS AND CULTURE?
These days it seems as though everywhere you look in Downey is soon going to look much different. Blueprints for restaurants, grocery stores and an assortment of civic projects are circulating in some of the best briefcases in town—and as each of these developmental plans becomes a real place, they are going to end up on the [...]
PRIVATE FIRM WILL OPERATE PUBLICLY OWNED DOWNEY CIVIC THEATRE
Operations of the publicly owned Downey Civic Theatre will be conducted by a private firm under a five-year contract approved Tuesday night by a 4-1 vote of the Downey City Council. Council member David Gafin dissented, calling for more time for public input. VenueTech currently operates six theaters in the cities of Campbell, Eureka, Vacaville, [...]
ALIVE THEATRE CANCELS THIS WEEKEND’S PERFORMANCES OF ‘ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD’
The Alive Theatre has cancelled all three of this weekend’s performances of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead due to what a spokesperson for the company called “regrettable and uncontrollable circumstances.” The cancelled shows were scheduled for tonight (Friday Nov. 12) Saturday and Sunday. Also cancelled are performances scheduled for November 26 and 27. [...]
GREATER LONG BEACH PUBLISHER INTERVIEWED ON IMAGINE THIS RADIO
Greater Long Beach publisher Dave Wielenga is among the featured guests on the current episode of Imagine This Radio, a weekly online interview program hosted by Antonio Ruiz of The Creativity Network. Wielenga, 55, who has been covering local news, arts, sports and culture since 1972 for the Press-Telegram, OC Weekly and the late District [...]
A SUPPOSED-TO-BE-WALKING ZOMBIE ARRIVES IN A ROLLING CASKET
It’s called the Zombie Walk, although not all of them do. And amid the gruesome shuffling and staggering along Fourth Street by hundreds of graveyard escapees Saturday night came tooling this cool ride---obviously a reincarnated relic of the cash-for-clunkers program.
AUCTION OF MARATHON’S MILE MARKERS TO BE EXTENDED AND EXPANDED
Absolutely unsurprisingly, mile marker 26 received the most bids from Long Beach Marathon participants last weekend during a silent auction to benefit the Artful Healing program at Miller Children’s Hospital. Twenty-six miles is pretty much what marathoning is all about—although those with experience never underestimate the additional 385 yards to the finish line. A whole [...]
UPDATE OCT. 19: AUCTION OF MARATHON MILE MARKERS TO BE EXTENDED AND EXPANDED
These mile markers are special. They were created and painted by young patients from Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach (MCHLB) as part of the hospital’s “Artful Healing for Our Heroes” campaign. Exactly 100 percent of the proceeds of the silent auction will benefit this program, directed by MCHLB artist in residence, Denise Clayton-Leonard.
GREEN IS GREATER FESTIVAL TODAY AT GASLAMP, NOON TO 6…AND FREE!
The Green Is Greater Festival convenes today at noon—eight musical acts, dozens of environmental groups, artists and vendors—in a first-of-its kind opportunity for the often-fragmented environmental movement to unite during six hours of celebration and fundraising at The Gaslamp Restaurant. The event is free. Korey Dane heads an exciting musical lineup that also features The [...]
