Community News

Aquarium Events

In celebration of the holiday season, Santa Diver will be delivering an ocean of gifts to the Aquarium of the Pacific for its animals, including penguins, sea otters, seals, sea lions, lorikeets and fish. The Holiday Treats for the Animals festival kicks off Aquarium Holidays, which runs Dec. 7-23, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring festive décor, a display of gingerbread houses, daily penguin parades at 10 a.m., holiday shopping, snowfall in the Great Hall, a special holiday menu in Café Scuba and daily appearances by Santa Diver and aquarium characters in their holiday outfits.

A toy drive runs daily and supports the Long Beach Fire Department Spark of Love Toy Drive. On weekends the Aquarium will have a snow play area, children’s crafts, and photo opportunities with Santa. Hanukkah storytelling with opportunities to play dreidel will be presented on select dates.

General Admission is $34.95 adult (12+), $31.95 senior (62+), $24.95 child (3-11) and free for children under age 3 and aquarium members, prices subject to change.

Info: (562) 590-3100

Author Book Events

Local author Karen Lucas will be at Barnes & Noble Beach for a reading and signing on Dec. 6 at the Long Beach Marina location at 6 p.m., and at Long Beach Towne Center at 1 p.m. on Dec. 7.

Her new Christmas story for children offers Santa’s solutions to delivering presents in difficult situations. When Karen Lucas’ daughters were young, they wondered how Santa Claus could leave his presents for them since they had no chimney. Lucas’ new rhyming picture book for children entitled Santa’s Magical Key: No Chimney? No Problem!” shares the magical secret of how Santa delivers gifts to homes without chimneys.

In a modern twist to the traditional story, Santa deals with situations that might make toy delivery difficult, such as homes devoid of chimneys, people visiting family members on Christmas or many people living in an apartment building. With the help of his magic key, Santa has the secret weapon that enables him to deliver presents to kids everywhere no matter where they live.

Celebrate the Season

Members of American Association of University Women (AAUW) will celebrate the season on Saturday, Dec. 7, to have their traditional Wassail, festive food and fun with fellow members, family and friends at the home of member Charlotte Joseph from 10 a.m. to noon.

The tradition of wassailing falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail.

The house-visiting wassail is the practice of people going door-to-door, singing and offering a drink from the wassail bowl in exchange for gifts; this practice still exists, but has largely been displaced by caroling.

The orchard-visiting wassail refers to the ancient custom of visiting orchards in cider-producing regions of England, reciting incantations and singing to the trees to promote a good harvest for the coming year.

AAUW membership is open to those with an AA degree or higher. AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research. To learn more about membership in AAUW, go to www.aauw-longbeach.org.

New LBCC Parking Facility

Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees members, leadership, faculty, students and staff will celebrate the groundbreaking of a new parking structure at Long Beach City College’s Pacific Coast Campus on Monday, Dec. 9, at 11 a.m.

The building will present an entirely new face as students, staff and visitors arrive and depart from the campus along Pacific Coast Highway.

The parking structure also strengthens the district’s zero net energy sustainability goals, and integrated energy master plan (IEMP) by providing electric vehicle charging stations, clean air vehicle spaces, photovoltaic (solar) panels, and a linear model wetlands system with bio filtration that removes sediment from storm water runoff.

Rancho Open House

Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens announces an exciting addition to the annual Holiday Open House this December. While visitors are invited to the free holiday open house on the evenings of Dec. 11-13, 4-7 p.m., there is an exclusive option for families with young children on the afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 12.

For one afternoon only, the Long Beach Camerata Singers will perform prior to the evening tour. The presentation is a specially tailored holiday musical program for families with children ages 3-8 years old with stories about holiday parties and family traditions from the Rancho’s past.

This fun, interactive children’s concert explores the musical concepts of melody, tempo, dynamics, and rhythm, as well as telling stories about family holiday traditions from the last century. Although the program is designed for young children, the whole family will be entertained and enlightened by the Camerata Singers who are dedicated to excellence in choral music.

The Thursday afternoon musical program will begin promptly at 3:30 p.m. and will be followed by light refreshments, children’s craft activities in the barnyard and memorable tours of the decorated Ranch House. Children must be accompanied by an adult and reservations (including a modest reservation fee) are required. More information is available at www.rancholosalamitos.org/events.

During the annual three-night Holiday Open House, guests have the special treat of visiting the beautifully lit grounds of the ranch during evening hours and touring the authentically decorated ranch house. This year, visitors will experience “A December to Remember” with festive holiday music and light refreshments served under the brightly trimmed eaves of the barns – a splendid way to get into the holiday spirit. The Rancho Museum Gift Store will be open for your shopping pleasure.

Holiday Open House tours are free to the public, but parking reservations are required. Call the Rancho at (562) 431-3541 to reserve parking.

It’s a Drag to Give

The B Room celebrates five years of hosting It’s a Drag to Give on Dec. 13, at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. This event has annually raised thousands of dollars to benefit multiple non-profits here in Long Beach by way of a drag show featuring notable community members who have performed drag in the past as well as those who are new to the art.

Last year, It’s a Drag to Give brought together 600 business owners, community members and local elected officials and raised $23,000 to benefit four community organizations.

This year’s beneficiaries include The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach, Beacon for Him, WomenShelter of Long Beach and Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition.

The program kicks off at 7 p.m. for cocktails, music and mingling followed by an evening full of great performances beginning at 8 p.m. and concluding with an after party. Tickets are $15 per person. VIP tables and sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information reach out to Isa Rached at isa@itsadragtogive.com.

Reagan’s Final Years

Author of “The President Will See You Now: My Stories and Lessons from Ronald Reagan’s Final Years,” Peggy Grande will be the featured speaker at the Saturday, Dec. 14, Long Beach Republican Women Federated holiday breakfast meeting. She will share behind-the-scenes stories, candid photographs, humorous moments and poignant insights into one of America’s most beloved presidents.

Following two terms in office, President Ronald Reagan continued with a busy schedule before leaving public life following announcement of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. During those ten post White House years, Grande worked in Reagan’s Los Angeles office from 1989 to 1999 as his executive assistant.

Following Grande’s presentation, columnist and Republican Women Federated member Robin Itzler will install the club’s 2020 board of directors. Held at the Long Beach Airport Marriott, the morning meeting includes information for Republicans who want to Keep America Great. Registration starts at 9 a.m. with breakfast served at 9:30 a.m. The cost is $30 for members and $35 for non-members.

The community is invited to celebrate the joyous holiday season during this festive year-end meeting. The environment offers like-minded women and men an opportunity to learn more about Republican Women Federated and how they can be part of this grass roots organization. For information and reservations, call (562) 432-5822 or visit www.longbeachrepublicanwomen.com/calendar.html.

Writers Club

The California Writers Club of Long Beach is holding its free monthly meeting on Saturday, Dec. 14, 3-5 p.m. at the Ruth Bach Neighborhood Library, 4055 Bellflower Blvd. Networking starts at 2:30 p.m.

For its December program, the club hosts its annual open mic and holiday networking event wherein members and visitors read aloud from their work for a maximum of three minutes.

Genealogy Meeting

The next meeting of the Questing Heirs Genealogy Society will be held at 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 16 at 5918 Parkcrest St. It is a potluck event.

The program section of December’s meeting is “Heroes, Rascals and Ne’er-Do-Wells.”

Hosted Christmas Dinner

St. Hedwig’s Catholic Church will host its 39th annual Christmas Dinner for those without family or who may be alone on Christmas Day.

“Our community comes together in the Spirit of Christmas to bring joy and happiness to those who might otherwise be alone,” said Deacon Henry Eagar.

Every year, members of the parish provide a free no cost holiday meal to over 200 people. Guests are warmly greeted by volunteers, entertained with live holiday music and sing carols.

Delicious hand-carved turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, dessert and beverages are enjoyed by all.

This year’s event, entitled “Christmas Blessings” will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 25, at 1 p.m. in St. Hedwig’s Quinn Hall.

Limited transportation is provided from Leisure World Seal Beach and near by locations.

There is no charge for dinner or transportation, however reservations are required. Interested guests should contact Josephine Glaubensklee by phone or text at (562) 387-3057 to confirm. Due to popular demand walk-in guests cannot be accommodated.