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.

This weekend offers a stellar opportunity to celebrate Latinx artists, from the Latino Comics Expo at MOLAA, to an intimate spoken-word poetry and live music event. We’ve also found a movie screening that’s also a relief fundraiser for Ukraine. Plus, a pop-up that’s ready to help you find a sweet gift for your mom on Mother’s Day.

Get to scrollin’!

SMALL ISLAND BIG SONG CONCERT – WARNER GRAND THEATRE (Wednesday)

Performers of the Small Island Big Song production. Photo courtesy Grand Vision Foundation.

Small Island Big Song, a live concert celebrating the ocean through song, is taking stage at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro Wednesday, April 27.

The nationally touring multimedia production features eight indigenous musicians who share thousands of years of seafaring ancestry across the Pacific and Indian oceans. The concert, which is also designed to raise awareness about climate change and rising sea levels, is framed in a theatrical narrative, combining oceanic grooves, soulful island ballads, spoken word and films of the artist’s homelands.

Tickets for Small Island Big Song range from $28 to $105 and may be purchased online, click here. Show starts at 7:30 p.m.

The Warner Grand Theatre is at 478 W. Sixth St. in San Pedro.

QUEER MEMOIRS MATTER – PAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE (Thursday)

Queer Memoirs Matter book discussion flyer courtesy Page Against the Machine.

Long Beach author Myriam Gurba will be joined by Los Angeles writer Jonathan Alexander on Thursday, April 28, for a free and in-person discussion from the writers about their work as queer memoirists and why the voices of queer authors are still very necessary in today’s social and political climate.

Gurba’s memoir “Mean” is about her coming-of-age story as a queer mixed-race Chicana growing up in Santa Maria. The book details her journey of coming to terms with her sexuality, race and identity, underpinned by her own experience of sexual assault from a stranger as a young college student in the early 1990s. Gurba’s book was recently optioned by Sony Pictures Television.

Jonathan Alexander is a Chancellor’s Professor of English, Informatics, Education, and Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of California, Irvine, and a cultural journalist and memoirist. He’s written a number of books, but most recently published “Dear Queer Self: An Experiment in Memoir” which examines three pivotal years in the author’s life and his struggle toward sexual and emotional maturity as a gay man.

The event, which begins at 7 p.m., is open to the public and free to attend. No RSVP required. Click here for more information.

Page Against the Machine is at 2714 E. Fourth St.

CELEBRATION OF LATINX CULTURE – SANCHO’S GARAGE (Saturday)

On Saturday, April 30, Sancho’s Garage, a vintage car showroom and multi-purpose event space in the Zaferia District, is hosting an event celebrating Chicano and Latinx culture through music, art and poetry.

The event features five spoken-word poets and three musicians, plus a small art exhibition. Merchandise and libations will be available for purchase; 50% of the proceeds will benefit the Local Hearts Foundation.

The event is free to attend and starts at 6 p.m.

Sancho’s Garage is at 1345 Orizaba Ave.

“THE EARTH IS BLUE AS AN ORANGE” MOVIE SCREENING AND UKRAINE RELIEF FUNDRAISER – ART THEATRE (Saturday)

The Art Theatre in Retro Row is hosting a free movie screening that’s doubling as a relief fundraiser for Ukraine Saturday, April 30.

The movie to be shown is “The Earth Is Blue as an Orange,” a 2020 documentary about a single mother of four living in the front-line war zone of Donbas, Ukraine, an area that’s been held by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. The film won best “World Cinema Documentary” at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020.

Don Schwartz who holds his Ph.D from New York University on European diplomatic history, will hold a Q&A before the screening. The event starts at 11 a.m. and is free to attend, but attendees are asked to donate with proceeds benefiting Doctors Without Borders.

Click here for more information.

The Art Theatre is at 2025 E. Fourth St.

LATINO COMICS EXPO – MOLAA (Saturday & Sunday)

Brothers Xaime and Gilbert Hernandez, authors of the “Love & Rockets” comic book series, are featured artists at the 2022 Latino Comic Books Expo at MOLAA and will be hosting a discussion about the series on Saturday, April 30.

The annual Latino Comics Expo is back and this time in-person at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) where attendees can meet and hear from leading Latinx illustrators and scholars and check out the works from dozens of comic book creators.

The free two-day event runs Saturday, April 30, through Sunday, May 1, and will include chalk art workshops for families as well as 45 vendors on site.

Click here for more information on programming.

MOLAA is at 628 Alamitos Ave.

MOTHER’S DAY POP-UP – CAL HEIGHTS (Sunday)

Shop at Elevate Boutique in Cal Heights is hosting a Mother’s Day pop-up shopping event at their store Sunday, May 1, offering locals a chance to get a head start on shopping for Mother’s Day.

The pop-up will feature goods from nine other vendors with items such as jewelry, clothing, plants, succulents, household wares, charcuterie and desserts.

The pop-up is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is free to attend.

Shop at Elevate Boutique is at 3423 Orange Ave.

SPONSORED BY LONG BEACH SYMPHONY

PEPE ROMERO RETURNS – TERRACE THEATER (Saturday)

Pepe Romero Returns! A truly unique one-night opportunity!

Audiences will be awed on April 30th as the Terrace theater welcomes world-renowned guitarist Pepe Romero. Honored by kings, heads of state, and artistic and institutional groups from around the globe, the Spanish guitarist will be joining your Long Beach Symphony for an unforgettable evening of rhythm and musical drama that only he can deliver, performing the evocative Medea by Manolo Sanlúcar, one of the key figures in the evolution of the flamenco guitar. The program also includes Symphony in F Major by C.P.E. Bach and Symphony No. 104 in D Major (“London”) by Franz Joseph Haydn.

Visit LongBeachSymphony.org or call (562) 436-3203, ext. 1 to reserve tickets for this amazing performance. Doors open at 7pm for a very special pre-talk with Maestro Eckart Preu, followed by the 8pm concert. Proof of Covid vaccination required. Masks recommended.

The Terrace Theater is at 300 E. Ocean Blvd #300.

 

SPONSORED BY AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC

SEAFOOD EXPERT ASKS: ‘CAN WE EAT OUR FISH AND HAVE IT TOO?’ – AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC (Wednesday, May 4)

Seafood for the Future’s Kimberly Thompson is an expert when it comes to understanding why we need to eat more seafood and how to do so in a way that supports healthy ocean ecosystems. As part of the First Wednesdays series at the Aquarium of the Pacific, attendees will meet her and learn from her longtime experience leading the aquarium’s sustainable seafood program.

Asking vital questions about how the ocean can be a sustainable and reliable source for feeding a growing human population, Thompson will provide an in-depth look into the benefits and limitations of the dominant sustainable seafood narrative. Attendees will be challenged to consider new approaches for more productive outcomes.

The free talk and Q&A titled “Beyond the Lists: Can we eat our fish and have it too?” — capped off with a cash bar cocktail hour and fish bingo — will take place from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, in the Honda Pacific Visions Theater. Reservations are required and may be made online or by calling 562-590-3100.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is at 100 Aquarium Way.