Aquarium’s festival celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month and features dance and music performances, bilingual environmental programs, arts and crafts, and a special annual award ceremony.

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which honors Latino and Hispanic cultures, the Aquarium of the Pacific will host its eighteenth annual Baja Splash Cultural Festival on Saturday and Sunday, September 28 and 29, 2019, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This event will feature bilingual environmental educational programs, including films and underwater presentations with divers, and traditional dance, crafts, music, and interactive children’s programs.

Latin American folk dancers, Aztec dancers, mariachi musicians, and other entertainers will perform in front of the Aquarium’s tallest exhibit, the Honda Blue Cavern—home to giant sea bass, rays, and other inhabitants of local kelp forests. Guests can witness colorful dances representing various Latino and Hispanic cultures. The Aquarium will feature interactive Central and South American music programs for all ages, and hands-on activities for attendees include children’s crafts. Younger guests and their families are invited to visit The Bernadett Family Early Childhood Education Open House to engage with activities specifically designed for preschool students. The festival will also include an award ceremony.

Baja Splash highlights Mexico’s Gulf of California, which is one of the most important wildlife havens in the world. Visitors can learn more about this important ecosystem, the threats it faces, and how people can help by exploring the Aquarium’s Gulf of California exhibition created with World Wildlife Fund Mexico. Guests can also learn about the critically endangered vaquita, a porpoise found only in Baja’s upper Gulf of California, through film screenings and an interactive station.

For a $10 off Adult Admission ticket go to http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/offer/fest2

Find out more about the event here.

We have teamed up for a Family 4 -Pack ticket giveaway! In the comments below, tell us why you would like to go or your favorite thing about the Aquarium. One winner will be randomly selected and will receive tickets for either day. Deadline to enter is September 25th, 2019.

More about The Aquarium of the Pacific:

The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific is a community gathering place where diverse cultures and the arts are celebrated and where important challenges facing our planet are explored by scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders in search of sustainable solutions. The Aquarium is dedicated to conserving and building nature and nature’s services by building the interactions between and among peoples. Home to more than 12,000 animals, Aquarium exhibits include the new Pacific Visions wing, Ocean Science Center, Molina Animal Care Center, and the Tentacles and Ink and FROGS: Dazzling & Disappearing exhibits. Beyond its animal exhibits, the Aquarium offers educational programs for people of all ages, from hands-on activities to lectures by leading scientists. Field trips for schoolchildren are offered at a heavily discounted rate, from $7 to $8.50 per student. The Aquarium offers memberships with unlimited FREE admission for 12 months, VIP Entrance, and other special benefits. Convenient parking is available for $8 with Aquarium validation.

Del Amo Fashion Center will host some of the nation’s most advanced military vehicles in honor of The City of Torrance’s 60thArmed Forces Day celebrations and parade. This parade is the

longest-running city-sponsored Armed Forces Day Parade in the country. This year’s celebration will feature the Navy.

Guests will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the most advanced military tanks, humvees and black hawk helicopters. Guests will also be able to experience cutting

edge technology at the Armed Forces Interactive Exhibit.

The center will also serve as the race expo site for the 4th Annual Torrance Armed Forces Day 5K Freedom Run/Walk.

WHEN:    Military Exhibition

Friday, May 17, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 18, 1 – 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 19, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. 

Race Expo

Saturday, May 18, 6:30 – 8 a.m.

WHERE:   Del Amo Fashion Center Parking Lot, East of the Outdoor Village along Madrona Ave

3525 West Carson Street

Torrance, CA 90503

Credit:
Del Amo Fashion Center

 On Saturday, May 11,Del Amo Fashion Center will host mothers from around the South Bay for a Mother’s Day event.

The Mother’s Day event will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in the center’s Outdoor Village.

The event will feature live music, mini-makeovers, massages, tasty samples, raffles and more. The first 50 mothers to attend will receive a signature tote loaded with goodies, including a savings flyer exclusive to the tote.

Credit: Del Amo Fashion Center/Simon

About Del Amo Fashion Center

Embrace the coastal chic lifestyle at Del Amo Fashion Center, the South Bay’s premier retail destination. Accented by an abundance of natural lighting, exquisite architecture, living green walls, gorgeous palm trees and a new fashion wing, Del Amo Fashion Center is a favorite in Southern California. Visit more than 200 stores including South Bay exclusives such as Brooks Brothers, Kate Spade New York, HUGO BOSS, Hanna Andersson and Z Gallerie. The center’s department stores include Nordstrom, Macy’s, Macy’s Men & Home, JCPenney and Sears. Experience the charm of the Outdoor Village with an array of retail and dining options. Other featured retailers include Michael Kors, TravisMathew, Arhaus, Brio Coastal Bar, Kiehl’s Since 1851, Lululemon Athletica, Sephora, UNIQLO, Zara, and more. For more information, visit www.simon.com/mall/del-amo-fashion-center.

About Simon

Simon is a global leader in retail real estate ownership, management and development and a S&P100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE:SPG). Our industry-leading retail properties and investments across North America, Europe and Asia provide shopping experiences for millions of consumers every day and generate billions in annual retail sales. For more information, visit simon.com.

Treat your taste buds to an all-new food festival and competition, the Queen Mary’s Waterfront Cook-Off, on Saturday, May 11 from 12 – 5 p.m. Grab the family for a finger-lickin’ afternoon of fun with delicious tastings, lawn and beer games, eating contests, and more, and watch as SoCal’s top BBQ pitmasters and chili experts compete for trophies, $10,000 in cash prizes, and the highly-coveted People’s Choice Award.

The Queen Mary’s Waterfront Cook-Off will feature BBQ styles from across the country including slow-cooked hickory barbeque from Texas and southern Memphis-style barbeque. The competition is an official, KCBS-Sanctioned, California State BBQ Championship that brings together 25 of the top BBQ pitmaster teams to compete for cash prizes, as well as the People’s Choice Award, for which all Waterfront Cook-Off attendees can cast their vote.

The official California-State-Certified Chili competition is sanctioned by the International Chili Society (ICS), welcoming 30 of California’s top chili teams to compete for cash prizes. The California State Championship Chili Cook-Off will feature chili styles from traditional red, homestyle, chili verde, and veggie offerings.

Whether you are a barbecue enthusiast or simply a foodie fan, Waterfront Cook-Off offers something for everyone. In addition to the BBQ and chili tastings, guests will be able to enjoy delicious corn, funnel cakes, and a variety of other treats. The game zone will offer giant Connect 4, beer pong, horseshoe toss, ladder ball, corn hole, and a mechanical bull ride. Groove to the beats of DJ Rod Epic and DJ Cordova, or enter the watermelon eating contest or pie eating contest in the afternoon for a chance to win cash and prizes.

General admission tickets include event entry and five tasting tickets for $35. VIP tickets are $75 and include exclusive one-hour early event admission at 11 a.m., ten tasting tickets and two drink tickets. Individual tasting tickets are sold separately and are only available on-site for $3 per tasting. Event parking is $20. For more information and to purchase tickets to the Queen Mary’s Waterfront Cook-Off, visit http://www.queenmary.com.

Credit: The Queen Mary.

Greet spring with a warm konnichiwa – or hello in Japanese – at this year’s Orange County Cherry Blossom Festival. During the weekend of March 15 – 17, thousands will gather at Huntington Beach’s Central Park to celebrate the richness of Japanese and Japanese American culture in Southern California. Sakura Matsuri, or Cherry Blossom Festival, is a widespread tradition in Japan and celebrates the gorgeous pink blossoms of the cherry tree, spring’s arrival and represents a time of renewal and enjoyment of nature.

The 2019 Orange County Cherry Blossom Festival expands on this tradition and celebrates the food, drink, crafts, music, and dance of Japanese Americans and the rootedness and hybridity of this culture in SoCal. The Festival provides the broader community with an opportunity to see and hear traditional elements of Japanese culture as well the many contemporary and hybrid forms that have emerged in the United States. Whether it is taiko drumming, folk music, classical dance, jazz, cosplay dance troupes, symphonic rock, DJs, crafts, Asahi, sake, Nintendo Switch tournaments or the 20+ food vendors, the festival is sure to offer something for everyone to enjoy.

This free event features more than 50 vendors and 27 different performing groups. The Festival will for the first time include two evening events, the Sakura Night Market, spanning two evenings Friday 3/15 and Saturday 3/16 where the whole park will be lit up with excitement, food, drink, and entertainment. The full festival schedule will be announced March 1 at occbfest.com and on social media.

Now in its sixth year, the OC Cherry Blossom Festival is a beloved annual event that was inspired by and honors Huntington Beach’s very own sister city, Anjo, Japan. The festival also raises the funds to run a youth exchange program, sending local students to Japan to experience the culture of Anjo first-hand. In return, local families host Japanese students who gain a better understanding our local community and way of life. Huntington Beach’s connection to Anjo, Japan dates back to 1982 and the Sister City program was officially incorporated in 1992, forever connecting the two cities and their traditions.

The Cherry Blossom Festival hours are Friday, March 15 from 5 – 9pm, Saturday, March 16 from 10am – 9pm and Sunday, March 17 from 10am – 4pm. The festival will take place at Central Park, 18000 Goldenwest St. in Huntington Beach. For more information please visit https://occbfest.com. Connect with the festival on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @occbfest.

Credit:
Orange County Cherry Blossom Festival.

The Rollettes Photo Credit: Tiffany Brito

Celebrate the talents and creativity of people with disabilities at the Aquarium on the weekend of Jan. 26-27, and enjoy live music, dance, art, and demonstrations.

 At the Festival of Human Abilities, visitors can watch performances and learn unique adaptive skills taught by artists and other experts with disabilities. Featured at the festival are hip-hop wheelchair dancers, a sign language choir, a singer who is blind and has autism, a guitarist who is blind, and other inspiring performing artists.

Along with these music and dance performances, the Aquarium will feature art demonstrations and displays, including mouth-stick art by local artists with disabilities. DiveHeart will present adaptive SCUBA demonstrations to show that people of all abilities can enjoy this therapeutic sport.

A variety of free creative workshop classes will be held on site, lasting thirty to forty-five minutes per session. Participants will have the opportunity to learn to sing in sign language, create wheelchair art, paint a hat, and try hip-hop wheelchair dancing. All major programming will have sign language interpreters for guests who are deaf, and the Aquarium will provide visitor guides in braille and audio tours for guests who are blind.

 HONOREE:    The Aquarium will present the Glenn McIntyre Heritage Award to Dat Nguyen on Saturday, January 26, at 3:10 p.m. Nguyen is the co-founder of a nonprofit organization focused on the Vietnamese community and dedicated to raising awareness of the capabilities of people with disabilities. A musician who is blind, Nguyen is a founding participant in and helped create the Festival of Human Abilities.

 WHEN:      Saturday and Sunday, January 26-27, 2018, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

WHERE:       Aquarium of the Pacific, 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802

COST:      $29.95 adult (12+), $26.95 senior (62+), $17.95 child (3-11), and free to kids age three and under and members.

 SPONSOR:         Courtyard Marriott Long Beach Downtown.

INFO:      (562) 590-3100 or http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/events/info/festival_of_human_abilities/

We have teamed up for a Giveaway! One winner will win a family 4 pack of tickets! Tickets are good for one day only. To enter leave us a comment below! One winner will randomly be selected. Deadline to enter is January 22nd, 2019 at noon PST.

Credit: Aquarium of the Pacific. SoCal City Kids will randomly select a winner for the giveaway.