File photos.
From dabbling in glow-in-the-dark arts and running, to exploring themes of love and sexuality at the 2015 QFilms Festival, this weekend has a lot in store for Long Beach residents. Here are five ways to spend your weekend.
Starting yesterday, the Long Beach QFilms Festival began its annual showing of a variety of films, ranging from thought-provoking and surreal to funny. The QFilms Festival, Long Beach’s longest-running film festival since 1993, will be held through Sunday at the Art Theatre at 2012 East Fourth Street and at the neighboring LGBTQ Center of Long Beach. The festival chose over a dozen films out of more than 200 festival submissions. Cast members and the film’s directors will be on hand to mingle with festivalgoers and answer questions. A jury will vote on award winners in several categories, and net proceeds will benefit the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach and its community outreach programs. For a complete list of shows and tickets, click here.
Spice up your weekend with the last few performances of Fences at the International City Theatre, which began its run August 20. The production celebrates the anniversary of the modern American classic by August Wilson. Gregg Daniel, whose directing credits include Wedding Band: A Love Story in Black and White for the Antaeus Theatre Company and the New Jersey premiere of playwright Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop at Cape May Stage, directs Wilson’s drama for an August 21 opening at International City Theatre’s home at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Set in 1957, Fences is Wilson’s sixth entry in his 10-play “Century Cycle,” a decade-by-decade exploration of the black experience in 20th century America. The last showings will take place Friday and Saturday at 8:00PM and Sunday at 2:00PM. For more information about ICT and to purchase tickets, click here.
In other news, Lily the Magellanic penguin is here! The baby made its public debut and joined other penguins in the June Keyes Penguin Habitat on Tuesday, August 18. Itching for something new to do? Head down to the Aquarium of the Pacific to check out their newest star.
Grab your lightsaber. Or your wooden stake (for chasing vampires). This weekend’s Long Beach Comic Con is sure to delight action here and comic book fans alike. The event will host more than 100 panels, 300 artist alley exhibitors and more than 475 exhibitors, according to organizers. Panel attendees include such comic- and action-savvy stars as John Barrowman (Merlin from Arrow), Chloe Bennet (Skye on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Peter Shinkoda and Tommy Walker (Daredevil) and Maitland Ward Baxter (Boy Meets Girl). Toss in those requisite Star Wars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (complete with Buffy star Nicholas Brandon) panels, a few well-known cosplayers like Nicole Marie Jean, Vampy Bit Me and Vegas Power Girl, and you’ve got yourself a bonafide Comic Con, one of the most colorful events to take place at the Long Beach Convention Center this year. For a dash of excitement that is completely new to this year’s Comic Con, visit the Space Expo. The expo will feature at least five panels geared toward bridging science and entertainment, including a panel that features Andre Bormanis, a scientific researcher who served as a science consultant for Star Trek. Other panels feature scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), with a focus on engineering, exploring new horizons in space, and planning martian “road trips.” Comic Con runs from 10:00AM to 7:00PM Saturday and 10:00AM to 5:00PM Sunday. Get your tickets here.
And on Sundays, we wear glow-in-the-dark outfits. You know, to get a Guinness World Record. The City of Long Beach could soon hold the title of being home to the world’s largest glow-in-the-dark painting after artists from the Long Beach Art Exchange try to supplant the current record holder during a glow-in-the-dark-themed 5K event on Sunday. The Dance + Run Long Beach 5K, which is being hosted by Groundwork Fitness, is expected to draw nearly 2,000 runners, walkers and dancers to the world record attempt. However, the gym’s owner, Giovanna Ferraro, is hopeful that the presence of potential Guinness World Record painting might bump that number closer to 5,000. The event will also have musical and dancing performances both along the route of the run, which has its turnaround point near Alfredo’s Beach Shack and at the start/finish line near the lighthouse at Shoreline Aquatic Park. To take part in the madness, buy some tix at keeplbcfit.com or at the Groundwork Fitness website.
