The South Pasadena Eclectic Music Festival and Arts Crawl, in its 14th year keeps going and growing.
The festival will be Saturday, April 27, from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. and will feature more than 50 musicians on 11 stages, in locations throughout the city, and centered around downtown Mission Street.
Last year’s event attracted about 22,000 people, when Mission Street was closed to traffic. During this year’s festival, the street will be open to traffic.
At its inception, the festival was held in a parking lot, with a couple of local bands, and a few dozen attendees.
“There’s going to be more music than one person could listen to in one day,” said Laurie Wheeler, president of the Chamber of Commerce, which cosponsors the event with the city of South Pasadena.
“It’s such a fun day, and it’s become a beloved event,” Wheeler said.
The idea for the festival, in addition to the music, was to attract people to visit and shop at local small businesses.
More than 20 businesses this year are participating with special events inside and outside their stores.
Wheeler said that the festival, plus the regular arts crawl program, is designed to support the small businesses which are a linchpin for the city’s economic growth.
“The Arts Crawl also was a case where people started coming to check out what was going on, and it became something that people started looking forward to,” Wheeler said.
The combined event now attracts visitors from all over Los Angeles, especially the Eclectic Arts Festival.
The headliner for this year’s festival is Twanguero, also known as Latin Grammy winning guitarist Diego Garcia, whose music is described as “Latin twang with Cali vibe” on the performer’s website.
Twanguero will appear on the main festival stage, located near the Metro station, from 8:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Also appearing on the main stage is the South Pasadena Transit Authority, which has performed at all the festivals, and Dave Plenn, the owner of the Dinosaur Farm toy store.
There will be a crafts fair, featuring local artisans, in the parking lot behind the former school district building. MOSAIC will host a kids’ zone with activities including chalk art.
“The festival is truly family-friendly,” Wheeler said.
There will be food trucks providing a variety for all palates, and a beer and wine bar.
The festival is supported by the Eclectic Friends of the Arts, a nonprofit organization, and is a collaborative effort among the Friends of the South Pasadena Library and the South Pasadena Arts Council, plus individual and business donors.
Editor’s Note: For a map of venues and more information on the festival, visit: theeclectic.rocks.
First published in the April 19 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
