FREE MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL IN VENICE, CALIFORNIA
VENICE BEACH MUSIC FEST 12
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2017
11:00 A.M. – 7:30 P.M.
Full day of all-star music, dance, and art at Venice Beach. Outdoor festival celebrating the creative spirit of Venice and the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, headlined by quintessential ’60s band STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK (“Incense and Peppermints”) and featuring performances by Woodstock legend BARRY “THE FISH” MELTON AND THE SAN FRANCISCO ALL-STARS, CUBENSIS, and many more talented artists!
VENICE, CALIFORNIA – The annual Venice Beach Music Fest music and arts festival celebrates twelve years of totally free music, dance, and art on Saturday, August 26, 2017, from 11:00 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. in Windward Plaza Park (1 Windward Avenue, in the park at the intersection of the boardwalk and Windward Avenue). The festival, sister to the Venice Spring Fling, is and always has been free and open to the public, is made possible by local and national businesses. There will also be an aftershow party immediately following the festival at Hinano Café featuring local band The Brobots.
The full day of entertainment at Venice Beach Music Fest 12 features a multi-genre array of seasoned and talented performers, some of whom were performing the hits of the day fifty years ago, during the famed Summer of Love cultural revolution. VBMF12 is thrilled to welcome headliners Strawberry Alarm Clock, whose song “Incense and Peppermints” was a Number 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1967. The current version of Strawberry Alarm Clock contains five of the original members of the band, which performed in Venice fifty years ago. The festival also features an afternoon performance from Barry “The Fish” Melton and The San Francisco All-Stars. Melton earned his moniker as “The Fish” in the ‘60s band Country Joe and The Fish, which in 1967 produced both their debut album and the album that contained their most popular hit and one of the great anti-war protest songs of the era, I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die, which they later performed as part of a rousing set at the original Woodstock music and arts festival. Melton’s band of San Francisco All-Stars is composed of members of other prominent bands with ties to the 1960s: Peter Albin and David Aguilar of Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin’s band), Roy Blumenfeld (The Blues Project), and Rock-and-Roll Hall-of-Famer Greg Douglass (Steve Miller Band).
Several of the day’s acts echo the celebratory sentiment of the Summer of Love 50th anniversary. Returning to the stage is local Venice band Champa 51, reunited for this special occasion as The Champa 67 Experience, performing original music as well as a psychedelic mix of hits from 1967. Southern California’s premiere Grateful Dead tribute band, Cubensis, will rock out the mid-afternoon. Cubensis’s lead guitarist, Craig Marshall, saw his first Grateful Dead show in 1967 and “strives to recreate that feeling at each and every show.” Rounding out the full day of musical talent is Ginger Merkin, a unique brand of Southern California country rock fronted by singer/songwriter Darren Hall (son of Hall and Oates’ Daryl Hall), and the amazing local folk and blues guitarist Cristina Vane with her band, Cristina & The Blue Vanes.
The festival also features the ArtQueen’s Great Planet of Apparel Art, a fashion show of recycled materials by a Swedish performance troupe, which is returning to the Ocean Stage for its second time! Local dance troupe Ya Harissa Bellydance Theater will perform multiple sets, and the show opens with a boardwalk parade by extravagantly costumed drum and dance ensembles Samba Soul Dance Company and Tropibloco. The parade will arrive at the festival site at 11 A.M., and will encourage audience involvement in Brazilian Samba, Hip-Hop, Samba Reggae, Calypso and other dance styles.
Venice Beach Music Fest 12 is always proud to support the arts by hosting an arts and literature show that is free for selected independent artists. This year’s lineup of visual artists showing their works include both local and internationally recognized artists Ra Ra Superstar, Debbie Pauketat, Joel Harris, William Brun, and Patricia Laraia. Author Doug Bratt will be signing copies of his book, Ava’s Grateful Bears. Artist Ann Cohen will be live-painting the event in front of the stage, as well as reading poems written by her late husband, San Francisco Oracle founder and social justice organizer, Allen Cohen. Poets Turtle and Anonymous—an original Merry Prankster from the ’60s—also will read original works from the stage. Hoops will be available for play and sale by Eclectic Hoops. A horticulturist from Humboldt’s own Royal Gold Potting Soil, and a food truck—Belly BombZ Korean Inspired Wings & Sliders—will also be on hand. Diabolo French Soda will be sampling their drinks.
This free-to-the-public festival is provided to the community by the support and sponsorship of many local and national businesses, including: Venice Beach Suites & Hotel, Royal Gold Potting Soil, Maui and Sons, The Sidewalk Café, Fresh Brothers, Volcano Tea House, Renewal by Andersen of Los Angeles, Vivid Seats, Redfin, The Free Venice Beachhead, Marriott Marina Del Rey, Hinano Café, Diabolo Beverages, Zelda’s Corner, and the Venice Boardwalk Association.
Producer Milton Rosenberg is thrilled to be in his twelfth year of providing free festivals with the community’s support. Rosenberg’s vision is that Venice Beach Music Fest preserves town founder Abbot Kinney’s original intention for Venice of America to be an arts and entertainment capital. Rosenberg also hopes the festival honors the city’s history as an epicenter of creativity. “It continues to be critical that Venice shine a bright beacon of love to the world through the arts,” says Rosenberg. Previous festivals have resulted in incredible live performances by members of internationally acclaimed acts Black Flag, Fishbone, L.A. Guns, Gov’t Mule, and Merl Saunders and the Rainforest Band. However, Venice Beach Music Fest is most well known in the community for showcasing Venice’s own finest musicianship and local talent.
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What: Venice Beach Music Fest 12 – Free music and arts festival at the beach
When: Saturday, August 26, 2017, 11:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Where: Windward Plaza Park, 1 Windward Avenue, Venice, CA 90291 (between the boardwalk and the bike trail at the beach end of Windward Avenue)
Description: Free outdoor festival featuring music, art, and dance at world famous Venice Beach boardwalk. Full day of world-class musical and dance entertainment, a large art show, and other fun attractions. Special celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Summer of Love, featuring music and dance from Samba Soul & Tropibloco, Cristina & The Blue Vanes, Ya Harissa Bellydance Theater, ArtQueen’s Great Planet of Apparel Art, Cubensis, Ginger Merkin, Barry “The Fish” Melton and Friends, The Champa 67 Experience, and Strawberry Alarm Clock.
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Venice Beach Music Fest Lineup:
11 – 11:30 Samba Soul and Tropibloco
11:30 – 12 Cristina and the Blue Vanes
12 – 12:10 Samba Tropibloco Reprise
12:10 – 12:45 ArtQueen’s Great Planet of Apparel Art
12:45 – 12:55 Ann Cohen
12:55 – 2:30 Cubensis
2:30 – 2:40 YA Harissa
2:40- 3:10 Ginger Merkin
3:10 – 3:20 Ya Harissa
3:20 – 4:50 Barry Melton and Friends
4:50 – 5 Other Reflection of the 60’s
5 – 5:45 The Champa 67 Experience
5:45 – 6:00 Turtle and Anonymous
6:00 – 7:30 Strawberry Alarm Clock.
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The free Venice Beach Music Fest 12 is made possible by generous donations from these local and national sponsors that continue to prove their dedication to arts preservation in our community: Venice Beach Suites & Hotel, Royal Gold Potting Soil, Maui and Sons, The Sidewalk Café, Fresh Brothers, Volcano Tea House, Renewal by Andersen of Los Angeles, Vivid Seats, Redfin, The Free Venice Beachhead, Marriott Marina Del Rey, Hinano Café, Diabolo Beverages, Zelda’s Corner, and the Venice Boardwalk Association.
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Visit www.VeniceBeachMusicFest.com for additional information, and connect with the community at www.Facebook.com/ VeniceBeachMusicFest . This event is endorsed by the Venice Chamber of Commerce.
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For all Venice Beach Fun: VisitVeniceCA.com
