Village Treasures is pleased to host a spoken word event featuring well-known community leaders hosted by Darick Simpson. Join us for an evening filled with words to stimulate your mind along with music, hors d’oeuvres and beverages. The Long Beach Spoken Word Festival, to be held on October 13 at 6:00pm, will feature spoken word artists Darick Simpson, Mario Cordero and Dana Michelle. Music is to be provided by The Steve Harris Jazz Collective. Village Treasures’ celebration of Speakology is part of OCTOBER IS ARTS MONTH, a month-long series of events coordinated by the Arts Council Long Beach. Please see www.artslb.org for further information about OCTOBER IS ARTS MONTH.

Village Treasures is located at 146 Linden Avenue in Long Beach, California.

Join Heaven Healing Arts for its one-year anniversary ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, October 13, 2007, at 12 noon. Learn about Reiki, meditation and intuitive readings! Visitors will receive a free gift while supplies last. Heaven Healing Arts is located on 101 Main Street, Suite D in Seal Beach, California. Please see www.heavenhealingarts.com for more information.

On October 12, 2007, the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon is kicking off a weekend of activities leading up to the annual marathon event. The Health and Fitness Expo will be held at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, Hall C; hours are noon to 7:00 pm on October 12 and 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on October 13. Events on Sunday, October 14, include a bike tour, marathon, half-marathon, 5K run and a kids’ 1-mile fun run. The Finish Line Festival will be held at Shoreline and Linden Avenue between 7:00 am and 2:00 pm. For more information, please visit the marathon website.

Sample the best chili in town at the fourth annual Belmont Shore Chili Cook-off! The event will be held on Sunday, October 21, 2007, between noon and 3:00 pm, at East 2nd Street. Please contact the Belmont Shore Business Association for further information.

B.B. Harris Menswear will be hosting an art show to benefit the Algalita Marine Research Foundation on Saturday, October 13, 2007, from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The show will feature the work of local and well-known artists. B.B. Harris is located at 5308A East 2nd Street, in the heart of the Belmont Shore shopping and dining district.