Fab Flair: Queen Mary Art Deco Weekend

The big boat's famous style? That's the star of the event-packed gathering.

#fixitfriday? It's a hashtag that's been popping up in recent weeks on the Queen Mary's various social media accounts.

That's due to the extensive renovation and restoration work currently being overseen by Urban Commons, the still-new leaseholder of the Long Beach landmark. A full stem to stern paint job for the '30s-era ocean-liner is just one major and positive step on the renovation road, a road that will eventually lead to the creation of Queen Mary Island, a full-scale, bells-and-whistles entertainment district surrounding the famous ship.

A ship that is known for its exquisite historical design and detailing, touches that hail straight from the period of high Art Deco. And fans of Art Deco, and the style of the era, regularly gather on the Queen Mary each summer to enjoy stories of the architecture, fashion, and music of the time.

The name of that gathering is the Art Deco Festival, and it is approaching faster than a gangplank lowers to shore: Saturday, Aug. 19 and Sunday, Aug. 20 are the 2017 dates, and the schedule is brimming with educational look-backs at design, info-laden talks, and some fun frippery, too.

The featured lectures include topics like "Art Deco in Entertainment Design," "The Bathroom of Tomorrow: How Hollywood & Art Deco Design Revolutionized the Restroom," and a talk on department stores of the Art Deco period.

A Grand Ball, a Swingin' Sunday Tea Dance, and a Vintage Bazaar are three more feathers in the cap of the on-the-boat convention. While the first two soirees are ticketed separately, you can nab a day pass for twenty five bucks and enjoy the Vintage Bazaar and lectures.

Also? There are ways to stay on the Queen Mary, of course, should you want to make a night or weekend of it.

The Scene

Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.

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Southern California is home to many ornate Art Deco wonders, some that are sparkling, some that are in need of a big dose of TLC. The Queen Mary is undergoing that TLC-ing at the moment, but it remains, without argument, one of the best examples of the strong-lined style still in elegant existence.

Raise something bubbly to the architecture of the time, on Aug. 19 and 20, in Long Beach.

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