Free parking in Long Beach? That almost makes no sense.

The words "free parking" or "parking" at all might elicit a chuckle or two and a dismissive hand wave by your fellow classmates, but it's true.

This Sunday and Sunday only, "University by the Sea" returns to Downtown Long Beach's East Village Arts District for a family-friendly marathon of art, film, food and of course, free parking. Toted by The District Weekly as having one of the best music line-ups in Southern California, not only will there be music, but over 200 things to do and 60 classes to take.

This year's focus is "going green" so everything from the 100% post-consumer biodegradable food containers to the free valet service for bicyclists to the composting classes will be accessible to everyone.

"University by the Sea" is in easy walking distance from surrounding parking structures and is conveniently located by three major bus lines (OCTA, MTA, and LB Transit), the 605 and 710 freeways. Classes will fill up, but tickets are available online and classes like bike touring or tree planting are free! Just make sure to sign up.

Vietnamese dancers at University by the Sea 2007video courtesy of Youtube

Let's get nude and "Hair"-y!

photo courtesy of the the official Broadway Hair website.

Kicking off this fall semester's University Players theatre line-up is the 1968 hit musical "Hair." The highly-anticipated production has already created a lot of buzz on-campus over the iconic and controversial nude scene that the cast of nearly 40 CSULB undergraduate students will participate in. The show has no age limitation so viewer discretion is advised.

The October 18 showing is already sold out, but tickets for performances from October 10 through October 25 are still available at the Studio Theatre and Carpenter Center box offices or online. Tickets are expected to sell out quickly so purchase early in advance.

David Wiese, who will be playing the lead role of Claude, says that this production will be "the most important play" the school has ever hosted and probably will be for awhile.

the movie adaptation of the song "Hair" from the musical
courtesy of YouTube

Art me, CSULB?

photo: courtesy of Bartcop Entertainment

Art may be a dying star in today's educational priority list, but CSULB is doing its part in keeping the artistic spirit alive. With a highly competitive studio art program and an impacted film department (thank you, Spielberg), CSULB is nurturing its thriving hub of artists from all different planes of expression looking to hone and bringing their manifestations to life.

"Art me, CSULB!" will be covering the comings and goings of everything film, theatre, dance, literature and music. It's hard to appreciate art when an audience is lacking. Therefore, in the campaign to prevent the arts from collapsing into a black hole, this blog will be bringing on-campus news to your doorstep or where ever you may be checking your RSS feed.