This Week in Keeping It Real

Last Saturday

Comments (0) By ALEX ROMAN Thursday, Jan 26 2006

Greater California

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While some parts of Long Beach are focused on ruining age-old landmarks and building pointless and endless shopping and entertainment facilities, the East Village Arts District has decided to keep it real with independent businesses and cultural events.

A perfect example of their positive steps is Last Saturday; starting this Saturday, it'll continue as the name suggests: every last Saturday of the month. Linden Avenue becomes the main event as the street turns into a promenade for open-air galleries in which local and So Cal artists exhibit their work. Plus, there's stage for the requisite music, as well as dance, theater and other performable arts. The debut version of the event will feature the super-adept musical stylings of local bands Greater California and the Year Zero; fire-dance troupe Sirena Serpentina; and art openings in the shops and galleries, such as the somewhat infamous SkullPhone's "All These Things May Burn" exhibit opening at Open.

Still not enough to get you off your keester and out to support strong community programs? Proj-ect PRO:JECT will be melding technology and the power of film with the passion of community organizing, you can help re-create masterpieces with Chalk by Numbers, and the Blue Nile Café will be hosting live screen-printing and painting open to the public. And no event would be complete without the world's most famous ice-cream man, Matt Allen, handing out free goodies for everyone. Oh, and it's all FREE.

It's nice to know that somewhere in America communities still care.

LAST SATURDAY HAPPENS ON LINDEN AVENUE BETWEEN FIRST AND BROADWAY, LONG BEACH, (562) 268-EVAD; WWW.LASTSATURDAY.COM. SAT., 4-10 P.M. FREE.