Long Beach Neighborhood Eat & Greets

Perhaps the best known and attended of these community gatherings, this Bixby Knolls staple happens, as the title implies, on the First Friday of every month. On Atlantic Avenue, between Burlinghall Drive and Carson Street, the free event features stores, boutiques and restaurants that stay open later, many offering select items at special prices as well as food and drink deals, including the many craft beer outfits that have lead to the area being dubbed, “Brewery Knolls.” Local artists set up tables displaying paintings, sculptures, clothing, jewelry and more. The great energy is suffused by numerous musicians and bands strategically placed throughout Atlantic Avenue.

Retro Row, the uber cool, vintage-focused, shopping, dining, drinking and cinematic hot spot located on Fourth Street between Temple and Cherry avenues, does its own community thing every Fourth Friday of the month. During the free event, stores extend hours and offer discounted merchandise, while restaurants offer food and drink specials. Pop up shops, well, pop up, as do local artists who show off what they’ve been creating. All this and live music give the area even more energy, more pop, more cool than it normally has – and that’s saying something.

This monthly event at oceanside retail center, 2ND & PCH, blocks off Seaport Way, the main road that runs through the shopping center, allowing guests to roam freely and check out the wares of more than 30 local and regional makers and artists. The Creative Communal Makers Market normally begins at 11 a.m. and runs until 6 p.m. This free, open-air event has live music and it’s not unusual for characters– from Disney princesses to the Easter Bunny–to show up, say hello and make themselves available for photos.