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 Long Beach will see two cultural festivals, including a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration at 2ND & PCH and the Hindu festival Makar Sankranti at Jordan High School.

A local performing arts group that puts on a shadow-casted show of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” just hit its 35th-year milestone and is performing a celebratory show this weekend. Plus, locals can also check out a theater-style production of Simon & Garfunkel’s most famous songs.

This weekend also marks the return of Black Restaurant Week—happy dining!

Get to scrollin’!

MIDNIGHT INSANITY’S ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW 35TH ANNIVERSARY (Saturday)

An actor is dressed in a red corset and fishnet tights as the character Frank N. Furtur from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Photo courtesy Midnight Insanity/Facebook.com

The dedicated bunch over at Midnight Insanity is putting together a live production of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Art Theatre, with this show marking the company’s 35th year in Long Beach.

For those who have never experienced the hilarity and absurdity that is live “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” we’ll break it down for you. Shadow-casting a live screening of the 1975 cult classic are community actors who mime and lip-sync the movie while also bringing their own personality and flair to the raunchy performance and musical numbers.

The whole performance is as much about watching the show as it is participating, which means you can heckle, catcall (they love that), sing and dance along. Costumes have always been encouraged for attendees, and Friday’s show will reward the person with the best costume with a prize. Could be a lap dance. Who knows with these guys.

Tickets for the show cost $13.50 and can be purchased here. Doors open at 10 p.m; show starts at 10:30 p.m.

The Art Theatre is at 2025 E. Fourth St.

LATA SANKRANTHI SAMBARALU FESTIVAL (Saturday)

Courtesy flyer to the 2023 Sankranthi Sambaralu Festival by the Los Angeles Telugu Association at Jordan High School Saturday, Jan. 21.

The Los Angeles Telugu Association, an organization that advocates for the Telugu peoples of Greater Los Angeles, is hosting a festival on Saturday, Jan. 21, in celebration of Sankranthi, also known as Makar Sankranti, a Hindu holiday observed in January when the sun shifts into the zodiacal constellation Capricorn.

The festival will be held at Jordan High School and will feature a variety of cultural experiences, from traditional foods to song and dance performances. There will also be clothing and jewelry stalls designed to emulate a village fair, or “mela” shopping atmosphere.

Tickets to the festival cost $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 3-10. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Jordan High School is at 6500 Atlantic Ave.

PLANT SWAP AT PLANTIITAS (Saturday)

Courtesy flyer for the Plantiitas Plant Swap Saturday, Jan. 21.

The Plantiitas nursery is hosting its inaugural plant swap event Saturday, Jan. 21, where plant owners are welcome to exchange plants with other plant parents.

One major appeal of coming to these events is the potential to come away with a new plant you may not have thought to buy on your own—and also to make new friends.

To participate, attendees need to bring their own healthy plants either already potted or in a container that’s clean to avoid contamination. Guests are also invited to bring cuttings or seeds to swap.

The swap is free to attend and runs from noon to 2 p.m. Guests are required to RSVP, click here.

Plantiitas is at 2011 E. Fourth St.

CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION (Saturday)

Courtesy flyer to the Chinese Lunar New Year Festival at 2ND & PCH Saturday, Jan. 21.

Shopping district 2ND & PCH is hosting a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration for the year of the rabbit Saturday, Jan. 21, with dragon dancers, arts, crafts and complimentary airbrush tattoos.

The event is free to attend and runs from 3-5 p.m. Click here for more information.

2ND & PCH is at 6400 E. Pacific Coast Highway.

BLACK RESTAURANT WEEK (Sunday)

Toran Grays, owner, stands in front of a refrigerator full of different banana pudding flavors at Extraordinary Banana Pudding in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. Extraordinary Banana Pudding is one of 25 restaurants participating in the 2nd annual Black Restaurant Week beginning Sunday, Jan. 22. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.

The second annual Black Restaurant Week is kicking off in Long Beach this Sunday, Jan. 22, highlighting Black-owned restaurants, chefs and bartenders while also celebrating African, African-American and Caribbean fare in and around Long Beach.

Many of the 25 participating restaurants will offer deals and promotions all week long until Sunday, Jan. 29.

Click here for more information and to see which restaurants are participating.

Also, here’s a glimpse of what you can expect. Prepare to drool:

THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY (Sunday)

Actors performing as Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel as part of “The Simon & Garfunkel Story” by The American Theatre Guild. “The Simon & Garfunkel Story” will be playing at the Terrace Theater Sunday, Jan. 22. Photo by Lane Peters courtesy The American Theatre Guild.

The American Theatre Guild, a nonprofit performing arts organization and the largest not-for-profit Broadway presenter in the nation, is performing its production of “The Simon & Garfunkel Story” Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Terrace Theater.

The production is an immersive concert-style theater show that performs all the greatest hits by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, one of the most acclaimed recording duos in the latter half of the 20th century. The show incorporates video projection, photos and original film footage from live shows in the ’60s and ’70s, as audiences are transported by song through the artists’ early years to their eventual breakup.

Tickets for the show start at $40 and may be purchased online here. Find more information on the show here.

The Terrace Theater is at 300 E. Ocean Blvd.

EAT MY PIE CRUST RUN (Sunday)

Runners participating in a High Tide Run at the pedestrian bike path in Long Beach. The Eat My Pie Crust Run will be put on by the boutique events company is at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 22.

Boutique events company High Tide Runs is putting on an “Eat My Pie Crust” run at the pedestrian bike path on Sunday, Jan. 22.

Runners of all skill levels are invited to join, with 5k, 10k, 15k and half-marathon routes available. Organizers will provide water and keep track of your progress.

Entry costs range from $24.99 for the 5k run to $38.99 for the half-marathon. Runners can pick up their bibs between 7-7:30 a.m. The run starts at 7:30 a.m. Click here for more information and to register.

The Eat My Pie Crust Run meet-up is at 5400 E. Ocean Blvd.

SPONSORED BY THE AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC

AQUARIUM HOSTS HUMOROUS TALK ABOUT FOOD YOU CAN FEEL GOOD ABOUT (Wednesday, Jan. 25)

What am I supposed to eat? That’s the complicated question up for lively discussion between special guest chef and author Noah Galuten, his comedienne wife Iliza Shlesinger, and Aquarium of the Pacific CEO Peter Kareiva during a special evening of food, comedy, and conversation at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Sharing ways to approach food, nutrition and sustainability—with pleasure and not shame—Galuten, who recently authored “The Don’t Panic Pantry Cookbook” believes food can be joyful, delicious, and good for the planet and your health. The cookbook, with a forward written by his wife, features mostly vegetarian comfort food that “happens to be pretty good for you.”

The Los Angeles-based couple, who often appear together on Galuten’s “Don’t Panic Pantry” cooking show, also know how to make food fun. With Shlesinger bringing many of the laughs, she was the 2008 winner of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” and has since hosted various television shows and appeared in her own streaming comedy specials.

The discussion—followed by cocktails and book signings—will take place from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, in the Honda Pacific Visions Theater. Cost is $15 for the public and $10 for Aquarium members. Reservations are required and may be made on the Aquarium of the Pacific’s website, click here, or by calling 562-590-3100.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is at 100 Aquarium Way.