“University By The Sea” To Transform Downtown Into Learning Hub

By Greggory Moore
my.style Contributor

When asked exactly what “University by the Sea” will be, Ryan Smolar laughs.

“It’s like four years of college in one day and three blocks,” he says.

His statement is intentionally hyperbolic, but there’s plenty of real ambitiousness behind the event. The first annual University by the Sea (U-Sea) will be an all-day festival of arts, culture and education taking place simultaneously at dozens of Pine Street venues on Oct. 28. Each will feature 45-minute “classes” on subjects like wine tasting, sushi making, landscaping, politics, jazz, karate, architecture, religion, digital photography and astronomy — to name very few.

A course catalog will include class descriptions, sites and times; “students” can pre-register for classes or crash them.

There also will be a gaggle of child-specific classes, he says, such as pizza-making, face-painting, and “yoga for kids.”

Additionally, an international film festival will give out a $1,000 award based on audience vote.

On average, each class will take place three times, so students wanting to attend two classes taught at generally the same time of day may take them both.

Participating venues include restaurants, clubs, hotels, outdoor booths and performance areas, retail stores. Basically, if it’s on Pine, there will probably be a class there.

“The purpose of this event is to hold a citywide arts-and-culture festival in our most interesting venue: the whole of downtown,” says Smolar, whose Smolarcorp is producing the event.

Sponsors include the Downtown Long Beach Business Association, the Redevelopment Agency, Charter Communications and the city of Long Beach.

California State University, Long Beach, has contributed resources to the event, including professors, Kaleidoscope Exhibits and “the Science Bus.”

“Instructors” slated to teach classes include Mayor Bob Foster (on Roman history), Councilmember Gerry Schipske (on “Rosie the Riveter”) and John Thomas, president of the Bluff Heights Neighborhood Association (on Long Beach’s history and how to preserve it as the city grows).

The idea for U-Sea was born out of group discussions about how best to showcase Long Beach. A film festival was shot down as too commonplace and lacking in area specificity. The focus eventually fell on two of Long Beach’s biggest and most unique assets: downtown (recently named one of the nation’s Top Turnaround Downtowns by the Urban Land Institute) and CSULB.

“(U-Sea) is a fun way to explore Downtown Long Beach in a way you might not have been able to before,” says Smolarcorp’s Rachel Potucek, who formerly served as Councilmember Suja Lowenthal’s legislative analyst. “Downtown has changed so much that for folks living outside of the downtown area, if they haven’t been here for a while, they might not realize how much it’s changed — how much safer it is, how much cleaner it is, the diversity of businesses... It’s a fun place to be. We want to showcase those venues, open them up for you to sample and enjoy.”

The event will represent Long Beach’s storied history. A prime example is what may be a one-time-only chance to view the Jergens Trust tunnel, a 100-foot by 35-foot pedestrian tunnel that once upon a time allowed people ready access to the original Pike by traveling underneath Ocean Boulevard. Visitors to the tunnel will be able to walk across the original Art Deco tile and will be treated to projections of a variety of films and “home movies” documenting the Pike as it used to be, as well to view — and even sit in — the last surviving car of the Cyclone Racer, the Pike’s roller coaster.

“There’s a lot of history in downtown,” says Potucek. “Long Beach was essentially founded at the corner of Pine and Ocean, and we have the opportunity to showcase its interesting history alongside its modern changes — all in one event. It’s a great opportunity for the city, a great opportunity to celebrate Long Beach.”

But as Smolar points out, U-Sea is also about the future.

“We’re helping showcase what Long Beach will look like in five years, when the population density here has doubled,” he says. “It’s almost like a festival of the future, a glimpse of better things to come... The whole concept of a downtown is that it’s a place where there’s a lot of people and an interesting mix of things going on. That’s not the case every day here yet, but we see glimpses of it; and this is a chance to help give it the momentum to become that kind of place.”

Somewhere between the time of the original Pike and five years from now is Sunday, Oct. 28, when $20 ($10 for students and free for those 12 and younger) will buy as many classes and film screenings as you can fit in from noon to 8 p.m., plus food and drink specials. Convenient parking will be included.

Smolarcorp is putting out a call for aides, film submissions and people who’d like to teach.

For details, visit www.universitybythesea.com or call 590-4948.