By snoadmin
There was a menacing aura in the air in Bixby Knolls last Friday. Teens were running amuck, dogs were in costumes and the adults were dancing in the streets up and down Atlantic Avenue. It was time for October’s edition of First Fridays.
Long Beach First Fridays is a monthly event where people can walk around the Bixby Knolls neighborhood and enjoy the art and music that its residents have to offer.
Patrons enjoyed free music, a variety of food and fun games during this month’s edition of Long Beach First Fridays, themed “Raise the Spirits.”
The Gallery Expo showcased a wide variety of art from different artists. One of the pieces that brought the crowd’s attention was a large graffiti-covered canvas. Different tags along the painting were reminiscent of the graffiti one could find on bridges and billboards along freeways.
Michael Ramstead, a recent graduate from UC Davis, also displayed his artwork. Ramstead described his art as a mash-up of the paranormal and childhood. His paintings were hauntingly beautiful as there were innocent looks in the depicted children’s eyes while in an environment that was absolutely magical and wicked.
Outside the gallery, live bands performed an assortment of genres.
The Doug Means Project played in front of the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association’s building. Their bouncing alternative/reggae tones brought an assortment of people in front of the band. Some listeners swayed left and right while popping their shoulders up and down. Other pedestrians went all out and jokingly booty popped in the middle of the street.
Outside Bella Cosa Boutique, pedestrians heard swinging jazz music from Hot Club du Bop. The muffled sound of the trumpet lured the audience in. The slow and steady beats from the bassist echoed in the audience’s dance steps. The hypnotic humming from the singer had the listeners captivated as they swayed to the spellbinding music.
Roaming the streets of Atlantic Avenue was Bixby Belle, the mascot for this month’s First Fridays. Her mission that night was to bring happiness to attendees, as well as give them candy.
Children in the area dressed up in Halloween costumes showing their eagerness for the candy-filled holiday.
They were also able to enjoy a “trick or treat” scavenger hunt where they would hunt for seven dolls in participating stores. If they found and listed all seven dolls, they were able to pick the one they liked the most and keep it.
Kids and adults were also able to enjoy a drum session at Jammin’ Music. Patrons banged on the drums to their own beat without any sense of rhythm.
There was a surprise in store for people as Sesame Street’s Elmo appeared in front of Averyboo Arts. Children and adults alike lined up to take pictures with the ticklish red friend. Some showed over excitement by shoving other people out the way just to meet him.
In the end, the monthly event turned out to be a success for attendees of all ages.
For more information about First Fridays, visit firstfridayslongbeach.com.
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