The 21st Annual Long Beach Jazz Festival is happening this weekend. Today.com’s Long Beach Blog has the details here, or see the Jazz Festival website.

The 75th Annual Great Sand Sculpture Contest and Youth Bay Day make their return to Long Beach on Saturday, August 9, 2008. Beginning at 9:00 am, teams of sand castle builders will turn their creative juices into sand architecture. Long Beach Parks and Recreation will also be bringing more than 900 students to enjoy a day of fun at the beach. The festivities will be centered by the Granada Launch Ramp; registration for sand castle teams begins at 8:00 am and the sand creations can be viewed between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm.

Want to pull a plane? On Saturday, August 16, 2008, the Long Beach Airport will be hosting the 2nd Annual Special Olympics Plane Pull. This popular event is your opportunity to pull a 155,000 lb. FedEx 727-200 airplane on the airport’s tarmac, while raising money for a worthy charity! Put together a team of your strongest friends and you could win this good-natured competition. Prizes will be awarded to the fastest and slowest teams.

For more information, contact Maricela de Rivera, Airport Public Affairs Assistant, at (562) 570-2674 or maderiv@longbeach.gov.

To register visit www.socalplanepull.com and click on “Register Now.”

Click here to view the So Cal Plane Pull Flyer.

Celebrate Asian and Pacific Island culture, art, music and cuisine at Asiafest. The event will be held on Sunday, August 24, 2008, from 10am to 7pm, at Seawalk Village near The Queen Mary. Visit www.QueenMaryFestivals.com for further information.