Long Beach Walls is back on the streets this summer, and the city is about to get a fresh coat of color. The City of Long Beach announced Monday that the weeklong, citywide mural festival will return with new murals, installations and public programming across multiple neighborhoods. Organizers say painting kicks off this week, paired with artist talks, bike tours and block parties for residents and visitors.
Weeklong program and kickoff
Produced by Creative Class Collective, Long Beach Walls is scheduled to run June 8-13, with many of the finished murals sticking around into the summer and beyond, according to LBC Vibe. The official Welcome Ceremony is set for Wednesday morning at the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau's center, where organizers will also preview walking and bike mural tours. Daytime painting, evening activations and family-friendly block parties are slated to pop up across different neighborhoods throughout the week.
Who’s behind it and why it matters
Long Beach Walls is part of the global World Wide Walls series, which states its mission is "to bring art and culture to public spaces while beautifying the city and cultivating community pride," per World Wide Walls. In Long Beach, the festival is curated by Creative Class Collective and Intertrend Communications, which collaborate with both international and local artists to pair murals with community programming, according to Creative Class Collective. Organizers highlight free access and neighborhood engagement as core goals.
History and local impact
The festival traces its roots to POW! WOW! Long Beach and has helped install more than 100 murals around the city since 2015, creating a walkable public-art route that boosts foot traffic for small businesses, reports the Press-Telegram. Previous editions have featured projection mapping on the Queen Mary and other large-scale activations designed to pull visitors into downtown and neighborhood corridors. Local arts leaders cited by the outlet say those efforts contribute to both cultural vibrancy and economic spillover for nearby businesses.
How to take it in
Festival plans include mural tours, an artist passport, bike mural routes, workshops and pop-up night markets across the city, with full schedules and maps posted on the festival's official site and local event pages. For the most current list of painting locations and tour times, organizers direct visitors to the schedule on Long Beach Walls and other local calendars. Volunteer opportunities and community programming details are being updated throughout the week.
The city first teased the festival's return Monday on its Facebook page, with the original announcement and images embedded above and available via the City of Long Beach. For official maps, timetables and a full events calendar, organizers point visitors to the festival site and the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau's event listings, where artists, small-business owners and guests can find day-of updates and neighborhood programming.
