By snoadmin
Wedding bells rang for the vow renewals of Laura and Wade Ashley while flowers rained down at Melinda McCoy’s Flowers. What could bring a community to have a public wedding with such a great reception? — First Fridays, an attempt to bring a community together and a successful attempt to raise business revenue.
Last Friday night featured a multitude of sales and events in the shops of Atlantic Avenue. One of the larger crowds centered around Long Beach Clothing. Founded in 2003, the store opened on Atlantic by owner “Lightning.”
KROQ had its van outside the shop because of Long Beach band Bethpage Black.
Bethpage Black has been together for more than a year, and in that time they have produced one EP and several singles online. Recently, one of their songs, “Losing My Nerve” has been on the airwaves. The band, which consists of Steve Coy (drums), Matt Carmichael (vocals), Derrick “Derock” Tucker (bass) and Davin Givhan (guitar), definitely has chemistry because of their lively performance. They dealt with the space and equipment that was allotted to them and pulled it off.
Gallery Expo featured the next largest crowd and had a shockingly talented group of high school students playing a hefty jazz set. Millikan High School played jazz from around the world and even some classic Americana pieces. The gallery itself featured mixed media and sets of all kinds. They ranged from modern paintings to sculptures and digital art. The range of jazz and mixed art made for an interesting ambiance. It was as if eclecticism loves company.
On the corner of Atlantic and Carson, a large Hula dance group, Ka Pa Hula O Hi’ika, along with a Ukele band, attracted a large audience ranging from teens to seniors. Other artists present on the streets and in the stores included Neon Hunter Collective, which created “soundscapes” at the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association Office. Timbreline played acoustic jazz and blue grass, and an Elvis performance also took place.
Although there were many interesting acts and deals, the First Fridays celebration seemed to lack a cohesion. It was spread out through approximately four blocks and most of the events were indoors. Unfortunately, if you missed their “Big Red Bus,” this made the venture of seeing everything in two hours quite a trying task.
However, there were three places that kept going strong quite late through the night — Nino’s Italian Restaurant, The Factory and EJ Malloy’s. Bringing together a community and more than 30 businesses is a daunting task. Luckily for the community of Bixby Knolls, the event pulled together nicely.
First Fridays takes place on the first Friday of every month in Bixby Knolls. For more information, visit firstfridayslongbeach.com.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.
