Local artist Bob Senske poses with his two paintings, which pay tribute to Long Beach’s aquatic legends. The artworks are on display at Iconix Fitness. (Courtesy Bob Senske).
The folks at Iconix Fitness may have come up with the inspiration you need to get to the gym.
Local artist Bob Senske recently installed a 9-foot-wide panoramic painting at the gym that features a water polo match on Alamitos Bay. Kurt Schneider, owner of Iconix Fitness, 4101 E. Olympic Plaza, commissioned the painting.
It hangs in the main salon and features a hall-of-fame lineup of Long Beach’s aquatic legends.
Senske is a legendary swimming himself. He was a two-time Olympic silver medalist in swimming and water polo.
His painting features swimmer Tim Shaw, water polo star Tony Azevado and swimmer Maureen O’Toole in the foreground. Swimmer Hank Wise — of Rocket Fish swim team fame — is the lifeguard in the background.
The artist also completed a second painting, which is also in Iconix Fitness, that is a tribute to Long Beach Olympic sailors, with silver medalist John Shadden front and center.
The paintings complement a small showcase, which also pays tribute to Long Beach’s water heroes, that is featured at Iconix Fitness as well.
Scavenger hunt
The Downtown Long Beach Alliance has launched a new summer scavenger hunt — a program that’ll benefit both businesses and customers.
Folks can participate in the scavenger hunt through Aug. 20 by downloading the Eventzee app, creating a profile and entering the code “DTLB.” From there, they’ll be directed to follow a path to complete challenges, earn badges and get points.
The participant who earns the most points by the end of the contest, according to a recent DLBA press release, will get $500 in gift cards to downtown businesses. Second to 10th places will get $100 in gift cards, the release said, and 11th to 20th will get $25 in gift cards.
“We’re super excited to launch this hunt to encourage people to find all the cool things DTLB has to offer,” said alliance Placemaking Manager Stephanie Gonzalez, whose job centers around improving downtown’s public spaces. “This is one of DLBA’s best programs aimed at increasing engagement throughout downtown and getting people out and about enjoying the summer.”
Visit tinyurl.com/DLBAScavengerHunt to sign up or for more information.
Downtown sharks
Six local entrepreneurs recently received grants from the Downtown Long Beach Alliance after participating in the organization’s Pitchfest Incubator Awards competition, done in the style of ABC’s “Shark Tank” television series.
This year marked the sixth annual iteration of the Pitchfest Incubator Awards.
They “are presented to business owners who pitch stand-out product ideas, business plans and concepts to a panel of judges comprised of Long Beach economic and community leaders,” according to the DLBA.
This year’s top two winners, who each took home a $5,000 grant, were Irving Barcenas — whose business idea is a social platform called the Culinarian, which intended to help users teach each other cooking techniques through livestream videos — and Alexander LaPelch, with Terravan Solar, a company that works to provide off-the-grid power for vans and recreational vehicles.
The remaining winners, who each got a $2,500 grant, were:
- Jocelyn Howard,of Howard Coaching & Consulting, LLC, for providing services to help college students with career development and businesses with workforce development services.
- Marian Lopez, Mama Cheesecake for handcrafted artisanal cheesecakes and pastries.
- Elliot Gonzales, Downtown Nursery for selling drought-tolerant, native plants.
- Ric Salinas, Indie Genius Group Amazon Consulting, for helping small businesses navigate Amazon services.
The DLBA also recently awarded 11 microgrants to various Long Beach businesses and organizations.
Five were received $1,000 grants, while the remaining six took home $500 each.
The $1,000 winners are:
- World Famous V.I.P. records, which will use the money to put on its “Sunday Saturdays” series at Lincoln Park, according to DLBA. That free event celebrates gospel music.
- Loiter Galleries, which will use the money to support the exhibit “Us Angeles,” a group show curated by pro-skateboarder and Long Beach local Steve Saiz.
- Elite Skills Development, for its memorial exhibit on Aug. 17 at Loiter Galleries. The exhibit intends to “help our community make sense of and draw redemptive lessons from the Middle Passage Slave trade, and the incredible resilience of the enslaved to survive,” the DLBA said.
- Long Beach Disability Pride, an event that highlights folks with disabilities, which will use the money to support its second annual event, which is slated for July 26.
- Willmore City Heritage Association, which will use the money to help put on its Summer of Live Arts & Music event. The first family sing-along event took place June 24. The next one is slated for 7 p.m. July 14 at Chavez Park, 401 Golden Ave., in Long Beach.
“After reviewing each applicant, it was obvious that we were dealing with a group of local organizations and entrepreneurs that care tremendously for their causes,” said grant judge Aaron Palmer, a Well Fargo business development representative, “and that each applicant plays a special part in the livelihood and prosperity of Downtown Long Beach.”
