The recipe for a successful event is simple: food, music and great company.
At Axiom Productions events, music fills the air, people move from booth to booth and small vendors meet new customers. Together, these elements create experiences that connect the community and support local businesses.
Co-founders Qiana and Ian Mafnas plan their events around small vendors. Hearing how much a single event can help with bills and family expenses pushes them to stay open to new ideas.
“There’s not any straight path,” Qiana said. “We just develop relationships along the way, and then a person will say, ‘Oh, it would be great if there was this,’ and we’re like, ‘Well, let’s do it.’”
Those conversations have already turned into a lineup of events stretching into next year.
A comment about a dessert festival led to the Long Beach Sugar & Spice Holiday Festival, a new sweets-focused event debuting this December. When more than 500 bands submitted to play at this year’s Long Beach BBQ Festival, they created Long Beach Amplify, a battle of the bands.
Now, they are also planning Roots, Rock, Reggae Festival, Long Beach Latin Fest and Long Beach Wing Fest for next year, each designed to bring people together and give local vendors another place to work.
“Our ultimate goal is literally to empower small businesses to make money, to feed their families and to watch the community have a great time,” Ian said.
One of the first ways they tried to do that was through Axiom Kitchen, their barbecue pop-up and catering operation, and the Long Beach BBQ Festival.
They held the first festival as a birthday party for Axiom Kitchen at Trademark Brewery, and about 800 people showed up. By the fourth annual event earlier this year, more than 13,000 attendees filled Rainbow Lagoon Park, showing how quickly it had grown.
“People think we’re making all kinds of money, but realistically, we’re really not,” Ian said. “It’s a heart-driven job.”
They come from a background in human services, with Qiana working in mental health and Ian in homeless services, which is why they want their events to help people.
“We like to cook, but our heart is in human services,” she said.
The heart behind their work is shaped not only by their professional backgrounds but also by the story of their son, Noah, who passed away in 2018.
“He would always tell me, ‘Mom, why don’t you do this for yourself? You work so hard for other people,’” Qiana said.
Those words helped inspire Axiom Kitchen and, in 2023, the creation of NoahS's Arc Foundation in his memory.
NoahS's Arc Foundation focuses on single-parent families, transitional-age youth and people experiencing homelessness or at risk in Long Beach. The nonprofit is small and privately funded, connecting people to support services.
“We’ve been fundraising to get a lot of programs started,” she said.
One of the main ways they fundraise is through the barbecue festival, which now doubles as a fundraiser for NoahS's Arc Foundation. The new Sugar & Spice Holiday Festival will also include clothing and toy drives in partnership with The Hood Santa and NoahS's Arc Foundation.
“If we can help one person, we’re happy,” Qiana said. “That’s what we’re doing.”
Behind the scenes, turning ideas into events takes careful planning and logistics. Qiana and Ian handle permits and health inspections, decide how many restrooms and handwashing stations they need and sign contracts for fencing and refrigeration. They also plan the layout so it works for vendors and meets health and safety regulations.
“What people see is the result of us going over it a million times,” she said. “This is the 20th revision of the site map.”
On festival weekends, they walk tens of thousands of steps a day, solving problems, checking in with vendors and squeezing in a meal, if at all. Qiana said people don’t realize how hard it is to pull everything off.
“We had to take a loan out for the second year that we did it,” she said. “We paid it back the third year.”
Qiana and Ian say their eight children, who all help in some way, make it possible to pull everything off.
“We wouldn’t be able to do it without them,” Qiana said.
Their youngest started out making shakes and small items and now, at 16, helps expedite and plate food. At this year’s Long Beach BBQ Festival, the kids wore “chaos coordinator” shirts as they checked on vendors and helped solve problems.
The family-run effort reflects the community they are building in Long Beach. Ian describes it as a big city with a small town vibe, where everybody seems to know everybody.
“We just love it,” he said. “We love being able to bring community together.”
SIDEBAR COPY:
Upcoming Events:
Long Beach Amplify
Nov. 6–7, 13–14 and 21, 2026
A battle-of-the-bands-style competition featuring artists across genres, with local performers competing for cash, bragging rights and a performance slot at the next year’s Long Beach BBQ Festival.
Long Beach Sugar & Spice Holiday Festival
Dec. 19, 2026
Dessert-focused holiday event in downtown Long Beach featuring local vendors, live entertainment and a donation drive for clothing, shoes, blankets and toys, in partnership with The Hood Santa and Noah’s Arc Foundation.
Long Beach Black Restaurant Week
Jan. 23–31, 2027
Citywide celebration of Black-owned restaurants featuring special menus, signature dishes and limited-time collaborations at participating spots across Long Beach.
For more events and information, visit axiomproductionsllc.com.