Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/18929
LONGBEACHMAGAZINE.COM 67 You Can't Handle the Youth November 11 Shore Ultra Lounge (21+) 6200 E. Second Street 562.252.8434 NIGHTOWL ALL THINGS LONG BEACH AFTER DARK WRITTEN BY RYAN RITCHIE to be not only a showcase of her talents, but also a celebration of the creative endeavors of locals she was worked with for the past year. Every participant — 14 artists, 23 models, three bands (including Pack's The City), deejays Almighty Nectar and 80 Bug and a handful of vendors – have at least some connection Pack, who says bringing in others to support her fashion show is her way of passing the baton that was recently passed to her. "In the past year I've been working with a lot of other people in Long Beach and I figured that would be a more interesting concept to the community," Pack said. "Seeing these young people I've worked with has given me the courage to go down this avenue and I want to bring attention to those who might not be aware that there are so many people in Long Beach doing something. Others had that affect on me and I'm passing that on to my friends. It seems to be infectious." "You Can't Handle the Youth" is also the first promotional venture for Roman's Social Pro production agency. Knowing she wanted to throw a party but unsure of what kind, in April Roman asked Pack — a personal friend — to put on a fashion show but the designer was not ready at that time. A few months later, Pack had enough garments for a show and "You Can't Handle the Youth" went from idea to full-fledged shindig. "It all came from the fact that we both really wanted to get out there," Roman said. "The purpose of the show is to give ourselves and the participants the opportunity to showcase. We're bringing together all the artistic elements of Long Beach." As someone who has been a fan of and in some way contributed to Long Beach's creative community, I wish them both the best of luck. n There were lots of reasons why I fell in love with Long Beach more than a decade ago, but I'd be lying if I said the No. 1 reason wasn't the fact that the city had a culture influenced yet independent from the neighboring Los Angeles and Orange counties. As a kid who grew up in Lomita, a population 20,000 L.A. suburb, I thought all the action was north until I began coming south and realizing that Long Beach had its own vibe and its own sense of community. I had visited Long Beach — more specifically the Queen Mary and the forgotten-by-everyone- but-me Price Club — as a young child, but it wasn't until I became a teenager that I began crossing the Vincent Thomas Bridge to visit a recording studio above the former site of the Blue Café. As lame as it sounds, my most vivid memory of the downtown area was the fact that there were one-way streets, something we didn't have on the other side of the bridge. From downtown my friends and I discovered these unusual street lights on Pacific Coast Highway and another long-gone Long Beach institution, Zed Records. The clerks at Zed became our friends who tipped us off to lots of great things — one of them being the sorely missed Foothill Club in Signal Hill – but once we found out an Original Tommy's Hamburgers was a short drive from our favorite record store, we made a weekly trek from the South Bay to Long Beach. You could say my heart has been here ever since. It wasn't until I began attending Cal State Long Beach that I became an active participant in the Long Beach arts culture. Beginning with the Daily 49er and up through this magazine, I have written for nearly every publication in town. Being able to shine spotlights on residents whose work has deserved recognition has been an amazing journey for me, and even though I didn't feel this way until somewhat recently, I guess one could argue that my reporting on other artists' creativity has been my version of a brush and easel. But my love affair with Long Beach isn't limited to me. One such person is Char Pack, and similar to me and my writing, Pack isn't content with standing on the sidelines of Long Beach's action. The 26-year-old fashion designer was raised in the Central California town of Dinuba, a city "no one's ever heard of," but moved to Long Beach at 17 to attend CSULB. After a short stint in San Francisco, Pack returned to Long Beach in May 2009 and says the fact that the arts community is based on nurturing — not competition — is one reason why she thinks she will call Long Beach home for a long time to come. To date, Pack's largest creative endeavor has been her involvement with the Long Beach Roller Derby and the creation of Moxi Streetwear, a clothing line influenced by the burgeoning roller derby scene. But that's about to change as the designer and Production and PR Representative Angela Roman are teaming to host a multi- faceted event called "You Can't Handle the Youth." The gathering – taking place Nov. 11 at Shore Ultra Lounge – combines art, fashion, music and culture created by young Long Beach entrepreneurs. The event will be spread across two rooms at Shore Ultra Lounge. One room will feature art — which will be for sale — and the other will be where the fashion show takes place and where the bands play. And for those who might not be able to get inside either the main room or the venue itself, a live feed will be projected outside the Shore and into the adjacent room. At the center of the action will be the fashion show featuring Pack's Dirtysix clothing line and her designs for Moxi Streetwear. Pack describes Dirtysix as a women's streetwear brand that is a "collaboration of tattoo style, graffiti style, gangster style and rock 'n' roll" while her designs for Moxi will be modeled by members of the LBRD, who will be wearing roller skates down the runway. In theory, the goal of "You Can't Handle the Youth" is to introduce fashion investors and industry associates to Pack and Dirtysix by giving them a sneak peek at garments that will soon hit the streets. But in actuality, Pack wants her event ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT : NIGHTLIFE