Residents of the Eighth District of Long Beach can look forward to a weekend of getting ready for school—with the help of Councilmember Al Austin and various community organizations, including the Long Beach Airport and the Port of Long Beach, among others.  

On Saturday, Austin and company will host the “Back to School Summer Blast” event from 11:00AM to 3:00PM at “Pops” Davenport Park off of Paramount Boulevard. More than 1,000 kids will receive free backpacks full of school supplies, free haircuts, health screenings, resource information and food. 

“This is the fourth year the Eighth District has hosted the Back to School Summer Blast,” said Councilmember Austin in a statement. “One [of] the highlights of the year for me is helping to ensure that our kids are healthy and return to school with the tools they need to learn.”

In addition to providing backpacks and medical screenings, event festivities will also include a soccer clinic, a jumper, an obstacle course, arts and crafts, face painting, an opportunity drawing, and free space for kids of all ages to roam about. 

Hot dogs, shaved ice, music and resource booths will keep things tasty, educational and entertaining for all participants. 

The health screenings will be provided by St. Mary Medical Center and Molina Healthcare, while State Senator Ricardo Lara’s office will distribute first aid kits. Assemblymember Mike Gipson will give out child identification fingerprinting kits. 

The complete list of sponsors are: the Long Beach Airport, Port of Long Beach, the Water Replenishment District of Southern California, the Long Beach Police Officers’ Association, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) – Local 11, Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, Avanath-Northpointe Apartments and Walgreens.

For additional event information, call 562.570.6685. 

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