The 22nd annual Santa Monica Festival returns to Clover Park at 2600 Ocean Park Boulevard this Saturday from 11 am to 6 pm.
The free event will showcase sustainable living and culture through an array of fun, family-friendly activities and performances.
Throughout the day there will be live music, dance performances, art workshops, food trucks, cooking demonstrations, fitness classes, and other interactive activities that reflect the culture and diversity of the city.
MC Eddie Lin of Deep End Dining will get things cooking with local chefs and culinary experts who will share their secrets to sourcing and preparing meals that are delicious, budget-friendly, and sustainable.
Chef Clemence Gosset, of the Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories, will start the day with a decadent dessert demonstration, followed by Ricky Flores of Co-Opportunity, who will demonstrate how to prepare his signature Co-op kale salad. This year’s Chef Challenge features Chef Josie Le Balch of Josie Restaurant and returning champion Chef Nyesha Arrington of Wilshire Restaurant.
Their task is to create a “$15 Meal for Four,” a delicious and nutritious vegetarian dish that feeds four for $15 or less.
Lastly, kids can join in the fun with Kid’s Kitchen with Kelly Dumke where they can participate in several nutrition-related presentations.
Kids can also test their culinary skills during a kitchen tool quiz and simple recipe preparations.
Enjoy a full day’s line-up of eclectic music and dance performances at the Ocean Stage, beginning with a heart-pounding, bass-thumping Hip Hop dance routine led by Angela Robinson.
Other performances include songwriter, singer, and accordionist Jessica Fichot, whose style combines the French chanteuse tradition with gypsy jazz and the folk music of China and Latin America; The Lions, a reggae-infused sound firmly rooted in soul music, drawing inspiration from sound system culture and Jamaican music old and new; and Contra-Tiempo, a non-profit, activist dance company, dedicated to transforming the world through dance, with their contemporary take on Salsa, Afro-Cuban, and urban styles.
To honor the Sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth presents the Voice of ONE Gospel Singers.
CREST Elementary School’s flash mob dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” will be an irresistible highlight of the day’s entertainment, and the 12-piece party band Boogaloo Assassins will close the event with their rousing fusion of R&B, doo-wop, Afro- Caribbean jazz, and salsa.
A variety of fun and active workshops throughout the day will prove that fitness can be fun.
Classes range from square dancing and salsa, to yoga and self-defense – and of course, the festival favorite Zumba.
The festival’s Art Zone will feature do-it-yourself workshops and demonstrations to delight and amaze.
Contemporary artist Cassandra Tondro leads a kid-friendly workshop creating eco-friendly art, using recycled latex house paint collected from the City’s Household Hazardous Waste facility.
The Mobile Mural Lab (MML), a traveling art studio and multi-media exhibition space, offers an interactive painting workshop, where everyone can contribute to creating a mural painted on the MML vehicle.
The Santa Monica Museum of Art encourages kids to get in touch with their creative superpowers by designing their own wearable cape made of recycled fabric.
The Santa Monica Public Library reinvents the library experience as an “ant farm,” where kids can craft playful headband antennas and dig into a magical colony of engaging books. The Festival’s Art Zone also features live music, drawing workshops, games, storytelling, and face painting with the Santa Monica Symphony, Kids on Stage!, the Santa Monica Playhouse, and The Broad Stage.
More than a dozen food trucks and carts will park at the festival for the day, with a wide range of healthy fare and options.
The festival’s marketplace will feature guilt-free shopping, featuring earth-friendly, artistic wares, jewelry, and crafts from Santa Monica’s favorite artisans, artists, and independent vendors.
The Town Square section of the festival will include organizations including the American Red Cross, Santa Monica Fire Department, The Broad Stage, Santa Monica Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the Santa Monica Conservancy, and many more.
Free bike valet is available on 25th Street at Ocean Park Boulevard.
Free rides will be available on the Big Blue Bus Route 8 only for festival participants.
For more information on parking, food trucks, live entertainment, and a line up of the day’s events, visit www.smgov.net/festival.
