L.B. spring break

For students who won't be able to escape from Long Beach during spring break, there are alternatives available to keep your mind off the return of school.

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will gear up Friday with practice and qualifying races. The celebrity race begins Saturday at 12:45 p.m. featuring Melissa Joan Hart, Ashley Judd, George Lucas and Dallas Raines, as well as sports stars Robin Yount and John Elway. The 26th annual grand prix begins Sunday at 1 p.m.

Pine Street and Shoreline Village are good places to beat the crowds. At the Yard House, you can listen to the engines go by.

If you're not from Long Beach, the Queen Mary and  Museum of Latin American Art are worth a visit. Joe Jost's, a Long Beach landmark on Anaheim Street and Temple Avenue, is another good bet. They've been serving  "the special" sandwiches and pickled eggs for 75 years and have pool tables that date back to the early 1900s.

The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific will host festivities in celebration of Earth Day on April 22. Activities for adults and children will include conservation displays, live music and entertainment.

Wednesday is dollar drink night for students with a college identification at Live Bait on the corner of Loynes Drive and Pacific Coast Highway.

The Cambodian Student Society at Cal State Long Beach will host the 16th annual Khmer Culture Show this Saturday in the University Student Union from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m.  Admission is free for the event featuring music, dancing and skits on different periods of Khmer history.