Stoked Fest returning to Long Beach

Kids walked the red carpet during last year’s Stoked Fest at the Long Beach Hotel.

Photos courtesy Terrence Mulligan

Stoked Fest co-producers Terence and Flavia Mulligan at last year’s event.

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Long Beach kids will have the chance to walk the red carpet and pose for photos when the second annual Stoked Fest, a film festival for kids and families, returns this weekend.

The event, presented by Jet Blue, and sponsored by the Long Beach International Film Festival, will be held on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Jetty Bar & Grill. West End resident Terence Mulligan created the event last year because he said that Long Beach lacks events for kids and families.

This year, the spotlight is on some award-winning shorts from the recent Tribeca Film Festival, such as “Fools Day” and “Pink Helmet Posse.”

Mulligan has a background in producing events — he produces the annual Wee Craic, a film festival showcasing Irish short films and music that was held in Long Beach last month — but had never done an event for kids until last year. The inspiration for the event came from his son, Brooklyn, he said, who loves to watch short films.

Mulligan said that the second annual Stoked Fest is aimed at helping Long Beach revitalize in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. And because there is still no movie theater in town, Mulligan said that Stoked Fest is a way to bring film and culture to local kids and families.

“Long Beach still doesn’t have a movie theater,” Mulligan said. “We had some help from our friends at the Tribeca Film Festival with some good short films. Also, in keeping with our Irish roots here in Long Beach — there’s a lot of Irish and Irish Americans in the Long Beach/Rockaway area — we will be showing some funny animated short films.”

The event begins at 5 p.m. with a red carpet event for kids, who can check their photos on Facebook.

“We wanted to make this inaugural fun and interactive for the kids and families,” Mulligan said.

As much as the festival is designed for kids, Mulligan still wanted to give parents, many of whom are still reeling from Sandy, a relaxing evening. As for the name of the festival, Mulligan says it’s just a part of the vocabulary in Long Beach.

Expect to see selected shorts and recent award-winners such as “Granny O’Grimm” and the “Boy in the Bubble,” along with some recent Oscar-nominated shorts such as “Pentecost.”

Jet Blue, meanwhile, will be raffling off a “win a trip” package, as well as some surf packages from Moku Surf and Skudin Surf camp. There will also be free Zico water and treats for kids and families. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids (admission is free for kids under 5). Visit www.stokedfest.com for more information.