Photo via kahakaioutrigger.com

It’s summertime in Long Beach, and that means that athletes are trading in the hardwood and grass fields for sandy beaches and cool waters of competition.

This weekend will be a busy one, as the annual Sea Festival will host three major outdoor competitions and one blast into the past.

The fifth annual Bixby Knolls Dragster Expo & Car Show will take place along Atlantic Avenue in North Long Beach this Saturday from 3:00-8:30pm, celebrating the city’s rich automotive history and paying homage to the old Lyons Drag Strip by lighting up a dozen 1,000-horsepower monsters. I’ll actually be a judge at the show and we’ll have more coverage of the event later today, so stay tuned and we’ll see you there.

On to the competitions. If you into beach volleyball – this is Long Beach, who isn’t? – then you should head on down to Alamitos Beach this Saturday, starting at 9:00am, to watch some of Southern California’s best square off  in the Men’s and Women’s Open California Beach Volleyball Association Tournament.

If you’re more of a water person, the Kitesurfing Expo on Claremont Beach is the thing for you. From 12:00-6:00pm on both Saturday and Sunday, there will be a kiteboarding exhibition, windsurfing demonstrations and stand-up paddle board lessons – a phenomenon that is catching fire here in Long Beach.

If you thirst for speed on the open seas, check out the Kahakai Regatta at Marine Stadium this Saturday, as huge outrigger canoes dash for the finish line in a display of power and precision that you won’t see anywhere else.

Click here for more information about the Sea Festival and we’ll see you out there this weekend!