{"id":88357,"date":"2026-03-04T12:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T20:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=88357"},"modified":"2026-03-04T12:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T20:40:10","slug":"things-to-do-in-long-beach-this-weekend-including-battle-of-the-bands-and-a-night-at-the-aquarium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/do\/things-to-do-in-long-beach-this-weekend-including-battle-of-the-bands-and-a-night-at-the-aquarium","title":{"rendered":"Things to do in Long Beach this weekend \u2014 including Battle of the Bands and a night at the Aquarium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Want a chance to be featured in our weekly events roundup? Add it to our\u00a0free community calendar at\u00a0lbpostevents.com<\/a><\/strong>. For a guaranteed placement, contact\u00a0frankie@lbpost.com<\/a>\u00a0to purchase a sponsored item.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A story of redemption at the Long Beach Playhouse (Friday, March 6 to Saturday, March 21)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Preview photo of Long Beach Playhouse’s “Gem of the Ocean.” Photo courtesy of the theater.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Long Beach Playhouse\u2019s Mainstage Theater presents \u201cAugust Wilson\u2019s Gem of the Ocean,\u201d a story about a young man in 1904 Pittsburgh seeking guidance from a revered spiritual leader, which begins a journey into his past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The play, set in 1904, is the first of Wilson’s \u201cPittsburgh Cycle\u201d of 10 plays exploring 20th-century Black experience in terms of slavery\u2019s legacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This compelling stage production brings themes of guilt, redemption and the enduring impact of history.\u00a0For more info, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Fridays celebrates Women\u2019s History Month (Friday, March 6)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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First Fridays \u2014 the monthly street fair \u2014 returns from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls, celebrating Women\u2019s History Month with music, art and performances honoring local women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy dining, drinks and shopping while supporting neighborhood businesses. For more info, including the lineup of all the performers, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dance under the sea stars at the Aquarium\u2019s Noche de Estrellas event (Friday, March 6) <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Noche de Estrellas takes place March 6 from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Aquarium of the Pacific, where guests can dance under the sea stars to cumbia, salsa, rock en espa\u00f1ol and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore ocean exhibits, meet over 12,000 animals, enjoy live music, a DJ, food and drinks, and educational booths until 11 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tickets are $24.95. For a full lineup of entertainment and educational programming, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battle of the Bands (Saturday, March 7)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Joaquin Palafox from the sludge metal band Jezebel practices with the group in Long Beach on Monday, March 2, 2026. Jezebel will perform at the annual Battle of the Bands. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These kids rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bands formed by students at Long Beach high schools and middle schools are competing for cash prizes and studio time this Saturday at 2 p.m. in downtown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each act will get 15 minutes to win over the crowd and a panel of judges at the At The Top nightclub at 105 W Broadway. Tickets are $20 or $25 at the door. Proceeds benefit a nonprofit that supports Renaissance High School for the Arts and arts organizations across the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get more info here<\/a>. Or read our article<\/a> featuring one of the bands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore Alamitos Beach landmarks on a guided walking tour (Saturday, March 7)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Alamitos Beach Architectural Walking Tour takes place March 7 at 9:30 a.m., exploring the eastern side of the neighborhood and the Lowena Drive Historic District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants will see Long Beach\u2019s historic landmarks, including Bixby Park Bandshell, Lifeguard Headquarters and Alamitos Branch Library, with special access to a beautifully restored historic home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more info, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plus, First Fridays is back in Bixby Knolls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":88345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"hidden","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32367],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[31999],"class_list":["post-88357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-do","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88357"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88368,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88357\/revisions\/88368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88357"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=88357"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=88357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}