Local events and happenings for the coming week
HISTORY HUNT HAPPY HOUR
All are welcome and encouraged to come and meet Julie Bartolotto, executive director of the Historical Society of Long Beach, who will be walking attendees through the Smithsonian Exhibit “The Way We Worked” tonight from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. at 4260 Atlantic Ave.
NOT TO BURST (the) BUBBLE
The Cal Heights Neighborhood Association is hosting an informative discussion about the real estate conundrum with its “Realtors’ Roundtable” tonight at 7 p.m. The new head of Long Beach Police Department North Division, Commander Quach, will also be introduced at the event, which will take place in the Petroleum Club Coffee Room at 3636 Linden Ave. For more info, visit www.calheights.org.
GIVING PEACE A CHANCE
The South Coast Interfaith Council invites the pubic to Lessons and Songs for Peace in the World, Friday, April 18 at 7 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, 6500 Stearns St. This free event is being coordinated to sing, listen, pray and seek peace to mark the 5th anniversary of the War in Iraq. For more info email pastorjim@christlutheranlb.com.
GET A DOSE OF THE BEST MEDICINE
Comedy Central star Jackie Kashian continues her tradition of bringing professional comedians to the Found Theatre with two upcoming shows featuring Matt Braunger, Adam Gropman, Jackie Kashian, Martha Kelly, Kyle Kinane, Amber Preston and Joe Wilson on Friday, April 18 at 8 p.m., and Rebecca Addelman, Jan Davidson, Jimmy Dore, Paul Jay, Carol Ann Leif, Joe Wilson and Jim Woster on Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10. Beer and wine will be available. The theatre can be “found” at 599 Long Beach Blvd. (at 6th Street). For reservations and more info, call (562) 433—3363.
ASTHMA FROM THE PORT?
The League of Women Voters will host special guest speaker Elina Green, project manager for the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma, who will discuss a connection between the traffic at the Port of Long Beach and the development of asthma in local children. The free event, which is open to the public, will take place from 10 a.m.—noon Saturday, April 19 at the Los Altos Public Library, 5614 Britton Dr. in Long Beach. For more information, call (562) 438-3912.
ANOTHER WAY TO “KILL TWO BIRDS”
Help clean the beach and raise awareness about autism. As part of Autism Awareness Month, the Greater Long Beach/San Gabriel Valley Autism Society of America will be volunteering at the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup Saturday, April 19 at 10 a.m. Adults and kids with autism (and others) are encouraged to attend by meeting at 1 Granada Ave. (at Ocean Blvd.) in Belmont Shore. Bags, gloves, refreshments and prizes will be provided. For more information visit http://www.beachcleanup.org or call (562) 982-9129.
“FOR ALL BROTHER AND SISTER CREATURES”
Cal Heights United Methodist Church is having a Blessing of the Animals on Sunday, April 20 at 11:30 a.m. In honor of Earth Day and St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, birds and the environment, guests may bring pets (or pictures of them) for Pastor Amy to bless. There will also be a petting zoo, pet care information, rescue shelter representatives and refreshments (for people AND pets). Call the church office at (562) 595-1996 for more info.
UNTIL EVERY CHILD IS “OK”
The next meeting of Hooks ‘n’ Needles will be Sunday, April 20 from 1 p.m.—3 p.m. in the patio area of The Marketplace Shopping Center (corner of PCH and Westminster). In conjunction with Operation Kids (OK), the group will be making small toys and collecting items to give to U.S. soldiers for distribution to children in Iraq. Please bring small toys, new T-shirts, hard candy, coloring books, school supplies and money (to cover mailing costs). Call (562) 494-9798.
A TRULY “HANDS ON” EXPERIENCE
Learn about Reiki, a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing through “laying on hands.” Based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive, Reiki treats the whole person, including body, emotions, mind and spirit. Long Beach Memorial Medical Center is hosting a free Reiki lecture Tuesday, April 22 from 7 p.m.—8 p.m. at the Memorial Integrative Wellness Center. Call (562) 933-1650 for more info.
