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Santa Monica Festival 2004: Global Cultures Locally Grown The 13th annual Santa Monica Festival celebrates the City with a jam-packed day of live music, theater and dance, arts workshops, and ecological activities Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. at Clover Park. The free festival -- presented by the City's Cultural Affairs Division and its Environmental and Public Works Management Department-- begins at noon with a rollicking opening procession of students, performers, dancers and drummers that winds through Clover Park to the Festival’s main stage. Continuing its legacy as Santa Monica’s preeminent cultural showcase, the Festival will present an eclectic lineup of traditional and contemporary performers on twosolar-powered stages, in a beautiful outdoor setting. With DJs Aurelito & Shakespeare serving as emcees, and bands Sono-Lux and Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang headlining, the Festival offers audiences the exciting opportunity to catch emerging talents poised to break through to larger audiences. Clover Park is located at 2600 Ocean Park Blvd., between Cloverfield Boulevard and 28th Street. Free and ample parking will be available, but in celebration of this year’s theme Sustainable Santa Monica – Celebrating 10 Years of Progress, festival-goers are encouraged to walk, bike, roller blade or take the bus. Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus line #8 serves Clover Park. Clover Park is wheelchair accessible. For more information about the Festival as well as assistance with accessibility accommodations, please contact the Cultural Affairs Division at (310) 458-8350 or visit www.arts.santa-monica.org. All events are free and are scheduled rain or shine. ENTERTAINMENT Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang: Gwendolyn’s anything-goes songwriting produces fresh, nutty, irresistible music. With a loyal following of kids, hipsters and parents, the Gang has received praise from NPR and the New York Times. Joined by Brandon Jay (who also plays with the local band The 88) and other local musicians, their music is “cheerfully indefinable, strange and whimsical…” (Los Angeles Times). DJ Socalled and The Alef Project: Working turntables, drum machines, accordion, piano and vocals (all at once) Socalled mixes strains of jazz, funk and everything else with klezmer, the music he calls home. Socalled is joined by The Alef Project, a new ensemble of Los Angeles musicians including Joey Derusha on mandolin, Claire Bergen on violin, Schwee (from the Critical Brass Band) on saxophone, Gospel singer Doris Glaspie and bassist Darren Willet. Together, DJ Socalled and The Alef Project will present a fusion of Klezmer, hip hop and gospel forming soundscapes of unexpected worlds colliding. Avada, a project of Yiddishkayt Los Angeles, sponsors this performance. Sono-Lux: Sono-Lux’s veteran LA musicians let loose with spontaneous, lively Afro-Cuban rhythms fused with modern timba and American funk. The resident house band at the King King Club in Hollywood, this nine-piece ensemble is a “must-see percussion showcase” (LA Weekly). Arpana Dance Company: Arpana (Sanskrit for offering) performs the traditions of Bharata Natyam, a classical Indian dance tradition synthesizing art, literature, poetry, sculpture and music. Arpana has performed in Europe and India under the guidance of founder Ramya Harishankar. The company won prizes at the International Dance Grand Prix in Prague and a National Endowment of the Arts Creativity Grant. They will perform Sri Vigna Rajam – the remover of obstacles – a 19th century composition, along with Mani aahi and Upachaaram – an ode to the elements. Talking Hands with Kathleen Zundell and Alan “SPO” Schwartz: Talking Hands combines the art of oral storytelling with the expressive beauty of American Sign Language. Told through mime, sign, and lots of audience participation, this innovative performance is great fun for hearing and deaf audiences alike. Titus Fotso’s West and Central African Dance Workshop: A master of traditional African dance, Fotso will lead the audience in an interactive dance workshop to the beats of a live percussionist. Fotso has performed with the Cameroon National Ballet, studied at the Paris Centre in France, and choreographed for Debbie Allen’s theatrical productions. 5:15 - 6 p.m. Samohi Serenaders: Santa Monica High School has a long tradition of jazz education, and from that history has sprung the Samohi Serenaders, students performing all styles of jazz, from swing to rock and Latin. Thrown into the mix recently has been the High School’s new Vocal Jazz Choir, a popular addition to the jazz ensemble, elevating their performance to another level. Santa Monica Library Presents Moondance: Coordinating with the Santa Monica Citywide Reads program, highlighting Christopher Isherwood's The Berlin Stories, the nine- member group presents “Jazz in the World between the Wars". Evoking the spirit of Berlin in the 1930s, Moondance will perform music from Cabaret, Kurt Weil’s Three Penny Opera as well as songs by Marlene Dietrich, Stephane Grapelli, Django Reinhardt and Fats Waller. Santa Monica Festival Poetry Project: Olympic High School students present their original poetry written under the direction of internationally renowned Santa Monica poet and theater director, Keith Antar Mason. ON-SITE I & I Sound System: Aurelito & Shakespeare will spin world beat, reggae, rare groove and hip hop from their mobile sound system. COMMUNITY WALK ECO-ZONE The City of Santa Monica's Environmental Programs Division: This division oversees programs designed to protect the environment and public health and plays a leadership role in implementing Santa Monica's internationally recognized Sustainable City Plan, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2004. Calculate Your Ecological Footprint: Discover what an ecological footprint is and how your every day actions impact the global environment. Compare your footprint size to those of others around the globe and explore how to decrease your footprint. 12 - 6 p.m. Sustainable Works: Sustainable Works provides hands-on, interactive and educational experiences on sustainability and how it can be incorporated in the daily activities of individuals, institutions, and businesses. Sustainable works is a project of Community Partners and is funded by the City of Santa Monica. Workshops will include: What is and Isn't Recyclable?: Don't know if you can recycle that pizza container, half-gallon milk carton or padded envelope? In just 15 minutes Sustainable Works takes the guesswork out of recycling and shows you what can and can't go in your recycling bin. 1 and 3 p.m. Using Less Toxic Alternative Cleansers, Cleaners and Household Products: Find new and healthier ways to clean your windows, scrub your sinks and deter pests. Sustainable Works presents simple and inexpensive alternatives to harsh chemicals in your home. 2:15 and 4:15p.m. Santa Monica Pier Aquarium: The marine science aquarium, located beach-level at the Santa Monica Pier, will bring their interactive displays and touch tanks filled with tide pool life to the Festival. reDiscover: Santa Monica’s newest environmental/education coalition recycles everyday discards from local businesses otherwise fated for landfill and gives them new life as hands-on learning materials. Rediscover is a collaboration between several early childhood education centers, parents and teachers, and the City’s Human Services and Solid Waste Divisions. Recycled Creations Workshop with rediscover: Explore your creativity using recycled objects to create a 3-dimensional project. 12 - 6 p.m. Living Systems: A regenerative design team blurring the line between architecture and agriculture, the consortium specializes in on-site resource production and ecological design. Living Systems will supply the solar energy systems to fully power both Festival stages. National Resources Defense Council: The NRDC’s new Santa Monica office is at the forefront of green building design in the United States. NRDC received the highest certification available for green building design, a Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Also on site: Treepeople, Heal the Bay, Coalition for Clean Air, Energy Coalition, Santa Monica Baykeeper. WORKSHOPS Make a Personalized Bookplate: Join the long history of booklovers who have guarded their valued possessions over the centuries with a special, personalized bookplate. 12:30 - 1:15 p.m. Weave a Dreamcatcher: Dreamcatchers are derived from Southwest Native American mythology. Come and make your own at this workshop celebrating the Library Summer Reads Program, "Ride a Wild Tale". 2-2:45 p.m. Bind a Book: Capture your words and images -- create a mini-journal. 3:30 - 4:15 p.m. Earth Art Workshop with Claire Kellerman of KLARITY: Get muddy and have fun while shaping a clay house based on sustainable building techniques. 12 - 5 p.m. Tree of Life with Dominique Moody: Turn trash into treasure using broken pieces and discarded objects to create a life-size assemblage tree revealing the story of our community. 12 - 6 p.m. Architexture with Asuka Hisa of Santa Monica Museum of Art: Create and decorate your own structure and explore the festival’s themes: environment, community, individuality, and the arts. 12:30 - 5:30 p.m. Mudpie Flower Mandala with Jan Williamson of 18th Street Art Complex: Use soil, flowers and seeds to create a bold and beautiful community mandala. 12 - 5 p.m FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OCEAN STAGE 12:30 - 12:45 City Welcome and Sustainable Quality Awards 12:45 - 1:25 Gwendolyn and the Goodtime Gang 2:05 - 2:45 Moondance – “Jazz in the World between the Wars” 3:20 - 4:00 Arpana Dance Company – Indian music and dance 4:30 - 5:15 DJ Socalled and The Aleph Project – Klezmer Hip Hop 6:00 - 7:00 Sono-Lux- Afro-Cuban & Latin Soul SANTA MONICA STAGE 2:45 - 3:15 Talking Hands with Kathleen Zundell & Alan SPO Schwartz - Sign language and spoken word storytelling 4:00 - 4:30 Samohi Serenaders 5:15 - 6:00 West and Central African Dance Workshop with Titus Fotso ON SITE Bigger than Life Sculptures – art installation of 2 local artists’ works WORKSHOPS 12:00 – 5:00 Mudpie Flower Mandala with Jan Williamson of 18th Street Art Complex 12:00 – 6:00 Tree of Life with Dominique Moody 12:00 – 6:00 Workshops with Santa Monica Public Library FOOD & SHOPPING INFORMATION PRESENTED BY PRODUCED BY SPONSORS |
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