Community News

Retired Flag Collection

Don’t know what to do with Old Glory once it’s weathered? On Friday, July 7, during Bixby Knolls First Friday festivities, local Stratis Financial mortgage broker, Dennis C. Smith, is organizing a flag collection and retirement.

Donate your old American flag(s) in the parking lot at Georgie’s Place restaurant on Atlantic Ave. at Roosevelt (3850 Atlantic Ave.) between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. At 7:30, Boy Scout Troop 29 will demonstrate the proper disposal of a natural fiber flag in flame.

The retired flags collected that night will be donated to the Boy Scouts to use in similar ceremonies. Nylon or other synthetic flags are buried according to flag retirement protocol.

All those who stop by can enter a free drawing hosted by Smith for two flags—one for an adult, and one for a child. The drawing will be held immediately following the flag retirement ceremony. You can bring your old flag starting at 6:30 p.m.

For more information visit www.facebook.com/LBflagcollectionretirement .

Guys and Dolls

Long Beach Playhouse closes its Mainstage season with Guys and Dolls, a musical based on the stories of Damon Runyon. Written in the 1920s and ‘30s, the stories told of New York’s notorious gangsters, gamblers, and other characters populating its underworld. The show opened July 1 and runs through August 5.

Set in a mythical version of New York City, Guys and Dolls is a fast-paced, oddball romantic comedy. The story centers around characters with names like Nathan Detroit, Sky Masterson, Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Harry the Horse and Bennie Southstreet.

Then there are the women. The Bible-quoting missionary Sarah Brown, bent on saving souls and Adelaide, a Hot Box showgirl with a heart of gold. The play takes us from hustle of Times Square to the cafes of Havana, Cuba, and even into the sewers of New York City. Eventually everyone ends up right where they belong.

Tickets are available at www.lbplayhouse.org, or by calling (562) 494-1014, option 1.

Movies in the Park

Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine’s “Movies in the Park” program sponsored by Signal Hill Petroleum will continue with screenings of the movie “Pete’s Dragon” on:

Monday, July 10, DeForest Park, 6255 DeForest Ave.

Wednesday, July 12, MLK Jr. Park, 1950 Lemon Ave.

Friday, July 14, College Estates Park, 808 Stevely Ave.

Young Women’s Leadership

On July 8, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Councilwoman Suzie Price will host a Young Women’s Leadership meeting at her Field Office located at 340 Nieto Avenue. Councilwoman Suzie Price is partnering with 3^rd District residents, Yesmean Rihbany, Becky Turrentine and 2017 Mrs. Long Beach, Autumn Katz, to offer the program.

Women are underrepresented in leadership roles in government, business, and in our communities. This disparity between female representation in leadership and percentage of our population means voices of women are less well heard, and so the experiences of women in our society play a reduced role in shaping our future. Educating and empowering girls and young women is an opportunity to begin addressing this problem.

Summer of Music

The Long Beach Municipal Band continues its 108th season of free outdoor summer concerts in Long Beach parks on July 11. The week’s theme will be “Those “Looney” Tunes.” Bring the kids, young and old, as this music was written for all ages. The talented vocalist Nicole Kubis will close the show. 

Tuesday, July 11, Whaley Park, 5620 Atherton.

Wednesday, July 12, Los Cerritos Park, 3750 Del Mar Avenue

Thursday, July 13, Marine Stadium, 5255 Paoli Way

Friday, July 14, El Dorado Park, Studebaker Road & Willow Street

Port Head on Straight Talk

Mario Cordero newly appointed executive director of the Port of Long Beach, will be the guest on the next edition of Straight Talk. He joins host Art Levine to discuss the challenges facing the port and his plans for the future.

Also appearing on the show will be Lou Anne Bynum, vice president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. She discusses why the board selected Mario to be the new head and the continued focus on protecting the Green Port philosophy and continued growth for the port.

This Straight Talk show will air in Long Beach/Signal Hill on Saturday, July 7 and Sunday, July 9 at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on LBTV Channel 3 and Frontier FiOS 21. It also airs Saturday and Sunday in Long Beach and 70 surrounding cities at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Charter Channel 188. Straight Talk is also viewable on demand at www.StraightTalkTV.com.

Public Safety Meeting

The Long Beach Public Safety Committee will meet Thursday, July 13, at the Fire Training Center at 2249 Argonne Ave. The committee will be holding meetings at different locations and times than usual in an effort to be more accessible to Long Beach residents.

Public Safety Committee meetings have historically been held at city hall during a weekday afternoon. This location and time creates difficulty for many Long Beach residents to attend, which is compounded by current construction. With these factors in mind, the committee decided to periodically hold meetings across the city in different communities and at times that are easier for residents to attend.

Tour Downtown LB

Join Long Beach Heritage, Saturday, July 15, for a Walking Tour of Downtown Long Beach. Long Beach was recently voted the best walkable, large city in Southern California by Walk Score, a company that rates neighborhood throughout the United States. Long Beach is filled with historic gems. From modern architecture to the Art Deco style, it’s all here and waiting to be discovered.

The Walking Tour Program fosters preservation advocacy and education throughout Long Beach.

A few of the buildings included on the tour are the WPA Mural-Recreation in Long Beach, Insurance Exchange Building, The Breakers, The Willmore Building, Farmers & Merchants Bank, First National Bank and the Security Bank Building.

Tours are held the third Saturday of each month. Should it be raining, please call (562) 493-7019 to reschedule.

The tour begins at 9:30 a.m. and lasts 2 to 2½ hours. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased through Pay Pal at www.lbheritage.com.  Tickets will be held in will call and distributed at the meeting site. Free parking at the 3rd and Promenade parking structure until noon. For additional information, call (562) 493-7019 or visit www.lbheritage.org.

Long Beach Heritage is a non-profit education and advocacy group which promotes public knowledge and preservation of significant historic and architectural resources and the cultural heritage of Long Beach.

Shakespeare in the Park

Long Beach Playhouse (LBP) once again joins forces with the East Anaheim Street Business Alliance (EASBA) to provide a free Shakespeare in the Park event for the Zaferia community on Saturday, July 15, 1-4 p.m.

Sponsored by the business owners of Zaferia, LBP will be mounting an afternoon of comedic Shakespeare scenes at Recreation Park’s Band Shell at 4900 E. 7th St.

Directed and adapted by Chris Mertan, promises to entertain and delight in the Recreation Park Band Shell setting. Attendees can bring picnics, and enjoy an afternoon of theatre with their fellow community members.

For more information on EASBA: www.zaferia.org.