Pre-Holiday Fun on East Fourth

The businesses on Fourth Street between Termino and Grand are holding an open house this Saturday from noon to 5 pm. Viento & Agua is offering a free cup of regular coffee or tea for a canned food donation. Growing Roots will give you a free plant is you bring in something for the food bank. If you visit all 14 locations, you can enter a holiday drawing for prizes, services and gift certificates.

New Yoga Kid in Town

Kava Yoga, located at 4005 East Fourth Street in Belmont Heights, is celebrating its grand opening on September 4 from 4 pm to 9 pm. Owner Cindy Anderson will welcome visitors with food and music by kirtan chanting group Bhakti Ma as well as Indian clothing and jewelry for sale. I'll be there to get a schedule of classes and to find out if the grand opening special -- 10 days of unlimited classes for $10 -- is for real.

Low, Low on Retro Row

The stores on Fourth Street, aka Retro Row, will be taking it to the street on August 14 for the biennial Sidewalk Sale. The stock is moved outdoors and prices are slashed to catch the attention of all us lazy shoppers who can't even walk in the door and count out our money. Besides the bargains, there's live entertainment and free samples plus games for the kids.

Give a little, get a lot

The Cystic Fibrosis Thrift store on the corner of Fourth Street and Termino will be closing this Sunday due to the death of its owner. Cindy Anderson has leased the space to open Kava Yoga in September. In order to clear the space she is holding an "all you can carry" close out sale this Saturday and Sunday. For $15, shoppers can take whatever they want from the place. BYOB -- that's bring your own bag (or box). Doors open at 8 am and close 5 pm both days.

Which came first--the twig or the willow?

A lovely little shop on 4th Street near Grand called Twig & Willow sells clothes, jewelry and lots feel-good gift items. Prices aren't bad for such a unique inventory and there's a definite leaning toward eco-friendly products.

Pop Up on 4th Street for Unique Gifts

The Long Beach Pop Up Shop will offer its wares at the Portfolio Coffee House from December 18 to December 20. Items like handmade jewelry, ornaments, and gift books will be available for last minute Christmas shoppers

Long Beach Rides into Sunset

Well, folks, I learned an important lesson last week—read the entire magazine before you decide to post about it. Yesterday, I was so thrilled to see Long Beach blogger Adriana Martinez featured in the March issue of Sunset Magazine, that I dropped the magazine and ran to my laptop to blog about it. Turns out that the big news is that this issue is black and white and Long Beach all over the place.

There’s a nice little feature about Retro Row, the shops along 4th and Junipero on page 22. That old warhorse the Art Theatre is mentioned. Don’t get me wrong, the renovation is tasteful and comfy, but I’ll never give up my memories of those old lumpy seats and the incredible films I got so wrapped up in that I forgot the discomfort.

Then on page 81, there’s an interview with Russ Roca, who calls himself the “Eco-Friendly Bicycling Photographer.” The photo only shows half of his 6-foot-long cargo bike. It’s red with a big carrying case in the front and his logo on the crossbar. You can bet I’ll be on the lookout for it around town. He also blogs at Bike Commuters, so maybe I’ll suss out his favorite hangouts from there.

Anyway, I'm still feeling the glow of recognition from all the media attention. Long Beach deserves no less.