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.
Downtown will be buzzing this weekend with the advent of a new queer pride festival and the return of Beach Streets. If you enjoy shopping on the weekends, we’ve found two markets worth checking out. And for those who enjoy performance art, there’s a special concert by the lauded Westminster Choir happening at Jordan High School.
There’s more so—get to scrollin’!
LONG BEACH PROUD! FEST (Friday – Sunday)
Long Beach Proud! Fest, a new queer festival, is debuting in Long Beach May 19-21, with three daylong events including a music festival. The celebration will take place in various locations but will be centralized in Long Beach’s historic “gayborhood,” which is the stretch of the Broadway corridor roughly between Redondo Avenue and Orange Street.
The festival kicks off Friday with Night Out: Eat. Play. Shop—a block-party-meets-bar-crawl style event. Businesses along Broadway between Junipero Avenue and Orange Street will be throwing open their doors with special promotions, live music and entertainment, including drag performances from 5 to 10 p.m.
The main event on Saturday, May 20, will take over Bixby Park and surrounding streets to host a large music festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Spread across three stages, dozens of queer musical acts, DJs and drag queens are set to perform. Saturday’s festival is also happening in tandem with Beach Streets, so attendees can expect a bike parade as well as various exhibitions and art installations.
The festival closes out on Sunday with the Big Gay Beach Takeover from noon to 6 p.m. at the rainbow lifeguard tower on the beach at 11th Place. There will be live DJ sets, a lounge, a food truck and an art installation.
Long Beach Proud! Fest is free to attend. Click here for more information.
BEACH STREETS (Saturday)
Beach Streets, the annual event that closes down major roads and allows the public to traverse them car-free, returns Saturday, May 20.
This year’s event is happening in Downtown where major streets such as Pine Avenue, Broadway and Cherry Avenue will be closed to traffic. Click here to see a route map. Attendees are encouraged to bike, skate, scooter, walk—whatever, the streets are yours.
An assortment of entertainment will take place along the route, from a kid zone that includes a rock climbing wall at Broadway and Linden Ave and to a market and music festival on Retro Row (Cherry Avenue and Fourth Street) and more.
Beach Streets is free and open to the public and runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Click here for more information.
FREE LEARN-TO-COMPOST WORKSHOP (Saturday)
If you’ve ever been interested in learning how to take your food scraps and turn them into climate-friendly compost, an ideal time to learn is Saturday, May 20, in Houghton Park.
This free workshop, presented by Long Beach Recycles, the city’s environmental service bureau, will walk guests through everything you need to know about how to make a backyard soil compost or a vermicompost (worm) bin.
The class is from 10 a.m. to noon at the Houghton Park Community Center. Reservations are required; you can do so here.
Houghton Park Community Center is at 6301 Myrtle Ave.
LONG BEACH ANTIQUE FLEA MARKET (Saturday)
If you’ve been in Long Beach long enough, it’s likely you’ve discovered what is easily the largest regularly occurring market in the city: The Long Beach Antique Flea Market. But if you haven’t yet, this Saturday, May 20, the market returns to Long Beach Veterans Stadium.
The market is massive—over 800 vendors generally attend the event, selling a wide variety of vintage clothing, furniture, jewelry, home goods, food, kitchen essentials and more.
The market costs $10 to enter ($15 for early admission) and is open from 5:30 a.m to 2 p.m. Click here for more information.
Long Beach Veterans Stadium is at 4901 E. Conant St.
WESTMINSTER CHORUS LIVE (Saturday)
The highly acclaimed and internationally celebrated men’s acapella group, the Westminster Chorus, is performing live in Long Beach at the Jordan High School Auditorium Saturday, May 20.
The show will feature five chapter quartets, each showcasing the best that Southern California barbershop music has to offer. If you’ve never seen a male acapella group before, click here to see a video of the choir that would give you a general idea of what to expect.
General admission tickets cost $35. Students and children can purchase tickets for $20. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Jordan High School is at 6500 Atlantic Ave.
2nd ANNUAL TURKISH FESTIVAL (Sunday)
A festival that celebrates the culture, traditions and cuisine of Turkey returns to Shoreline Aquatic Park Sunday, May 21.
Presented by the American Turkish Association of Southern California, the daylong celebration will feature Turkish food, coffee, folk dancing and live music.
The event is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free to attend. Click here to learn more information about the event.
Shoreline Aquatic Park is at 200 Aquarium Way.
RAD MARKET FESTIVAL (Sunday)
Fans of punk rock music and the aesthetic should check out a special concert and market happening at Flannigan’s Screen Printing shop Sunday, May 21.
Six punk rock bands will be performing from 11 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. There will also be a market featuring 50 vendors selling punk rock and goth art, jewelry, toys, records, clothing and more.
The event is free to attend. Click here for more information.
Flannigan’s Screen Printing Co. is at 5881 Obispo Ave.
SPONSORED BY ELECTRIFY EXPO
ELECTRIFY EXPO RETURNS TO LONG BEACH (Friday – Sunday)
Electrify Expo, North America’s largest electric vehicle festival, is bringing fun for all ages to Long Beach this weekend May 19-21 at the Long Beach Convention Center. Attendees at this year’s Electrify Expo will ride, drive and demo the world’s top electric cars and trucks alongside electric motorcycles, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards and more.
Whether you’re looking for a high performance demo or a comfortable street cruise, Electrify is the one-stop shop to kick the tires on all things electric including:
• BMW: i7, iX xDrive50, iX M60, i4 eDrive 35, i4 eDrive 40, i4 M50
• Chrysler: Pacifica Hybrid
• Ford: Mach E, F150 Lightning
• Kia: EV9 and EV6
• Mitsubishi: Outlander PHEV
• Tesla: Models S, 3, X, Y
• Toyota: Rav4 Prime, Prius, Tundra Hybrid, bZrx, Mirai
• Volvo: All-electric XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge; Plug-in Hybrid XC60 Recharge and XC90 Recharge
• Volkswagen: ID.4
In addition to automakers, Long Beach attendees will experience exciting e-bike, e-scooter, and other micromobility products from one to four wheels from top brands including:
• Cake
• GIANT
• NIU
• Onewheel
• Ryvid Motorcycles
• Stacyc
• And 150+ more!
The entire weekend will be packed with entertainment including all types of thrilling demo courses, massive kids zones, great music, displays, and delicious food.
Sat and Sun GA tickets $20, kids under 5 are free. Long Beach Post readers save 25% with code “EE23LBC25” at this link, click here.
SPONSORED BY THE LONG BEACH SYMPHONY
LONG BEACH SYMPHONY POPS WILL ROCK AND ROLL WITH CLASSIC HITS (Saturday)
Long Beach Symphony’s Symphonic Rock Dance Party is expected to bring down the house with chart-toppers from the ’70s and ’80s.
The orchestra, joined by a seven-member band, will be led by Guest Conductor Susie Seiter, a prolific conductor and orchestrator for film, television, video games and live concerts. She is best known for orchestrating and conducting the concert tours of “The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses” and “Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions.”
Designed to inspire audience members to get up and dance and sing, the performance will spotlight energetic and classic tunes from artists such as Journey, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pat Benatar, Scorpions, Starship, U2 and other rock legends.
“This concert, you could say, will rock you like a hurricane,” Long Beach Symphony President Kelly Ruggirello said. “It’s such a fun finale for our 2022-23 Pops Series season.”
The concert and dance party will take place at the Long Beach Arena on Saturday, May 20, at 8 p.m., with the doors opening at 6:30 for indoor picnicking. Individual concert tickets start at $30. Visit LongBeachSymphony.org or call 562-436-3203, ext. 1.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the name of the organization presenting the Turkish Festival at Shoreline Aquatic Park.