More Than Just a Beach Day at Junipero Beach
Recreation, Healing, and Community at Junipero Beach
Last Friday afternoon, Junipero Beach buzzed with the kind of energy that makes you want to stay awhile. A boombox played throwback jams, women and children whirled around on roller skates, people played basketball, and a music video was being set up. Just steps from the water, people were hula hooping, getting massages, or grabbing a bite at the beachfront restaurant. This wasn’t your typical beach day—it was something more vibrant, more communal.
Last month, Long Beach debuted two new additions to the Junipero Beach Sports Court: a long-anticipated outdoor roller rink and a second basketball court. These join the other basketball courts, an epic climbing park, a seaside restaurant, and of course, the ocean. The upgrades have transformed this stretch of sand into a dynamic gathering spot, where wellness, movement, and culture converge.
First, I had the opportunity to speak with Ricky Carter, owner of Roller Skates of America, who rented roller skates that day along with his colleague, Arika Richardson. Ricky shared that many indoor skating rinks are closing down and people are looking for a place to skate. When Long Beach opened up the outdoor roller rink last month, Roller Skates of America came out to support the community.
“We’re trying to keep the skating community going so we come out here to provide rental skates so that everyone has something to skate on,” Ricky said.
His father began the custom roller skate shop in 1979. At one point they had a location in North Long Beach, but now their storefront, which creates custom roller skates, is located in Lawndale, Ca.
Beyond roller skating and basketball, Mama Cali brought her hula hoops to share with the community that day. She began her hooping journey several years ago. At first, Mama Cali wasn’t able to hula hoop. She discovered that it was the size of the hoops that was impeding her from hooping and discovered beaded hoops.
“The beaded hoop is what changed everything for me. It activated the muscle memory to be able to do it,” Mama Cali shared.
She now regularly brings hula hoops to Junipero Beach on the weekends in the summer and teaches people how to hula hoop as she has found wellness in hooping and wants to share it with the community.
“It’s meditative, helps to alleviate feelings of anxiety, and it’s just fun,” Mama Cali beamed.
Mama Cali is part of a healing collective group within Long Beach Forward, a local non-profit that aims to: “create a healthy Long Beach with low-income communities of color by building community knowledge, leadership, and power.” Many of her friends and colleagues were there that afternoon to enjoy each other’s company in an inviting atmosphere.
When I first asked Mama Cali if I could interview her, she kindly let me know it would have to wait until after a water blessing ceremony that I could join. The ceremony was led by Mica Salatino, another member of the healing collective, who shared that the practice was inspired by both Dr. Masaru Emoto’s research on how positive thoughts and intentions can shift the molecular structure of water, and traditional Native American water blessing rituals.
During this ceremony, Mama Cali shared The Water Song with us from her Native American roots that she encouraged us to sing it with her to offer loving gratitude for water as she beat a beautiful, round drum. We passed the bowl of water around to infuse positive thoughts for the water and Mica later returned it to the ocean.
By the end of the afternoon, I felt like I’d stumbled onto something special. It was a mix of movement, healing, creativity, and community joy. Between the skaters, the hoopers, the water blessing, and all the people just out there vibing and connecting, Junipero felt alive in a whole new way. I came for the roller rink, but left with a deeper sense of what’s possible when people come together with intention and love. I’ll definitely be back!
sounds incredible.