Fiesta La Ballona, Culver City’s annual “Party in the Park”, will be held this weekend, Aug. 26-28, at Veterans Park, 4117 Overland Ave. in Culver City. Fiesta will feature live performances, carnival rides and games, 80 vendor booths showcasing local groups, artisan wares and other vendors, pony rides and petting zoo, beer and wine garden, food trucks and a food court, sustainability activities and other special activities. Admission is free. Visit www.fiestalaballona.org or call 310-253-6650 for more information.
Fiesta La Ballona event hours are 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27; and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 28.
Fiesta goers are advised that limited parking is available at Veterans Memorial Complex and at Culver City City Hall Garage on the P1 Level. To avoid parking challenges, attendees are encouraged to take alternative transportation including Culver City Bus or to walk, bike and ride to Fiesta La Ballona.
Culver City’s Fiesta La Ballona is recognized as a bicycle friendly event. Angel City Derby Girls and Palms Cycle will offer a secure bike valet for visitors who ride their bikes to the celebration on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.to 6 p.m. Culver City Bus provides bicycle racks to encourage bike riding and public transportation.
Contact Culver City Bus, to plan your visit, atwww.culvercitybus.com or 310-253-6500. This year’s Dial-A-Ride para-transit shuttle will operate Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pick-up/drop-off zone will be in front of Culver City City Hall at 9770 Culver Blvd. Fiesta goers will be transported to and from the Culver City Teen Center’s rear parking lot.
Music and dance performances as well as special inter-active activities are free. Food, drinks and other attractions are optional and an additional cost. Carnival ride tickets are $1 each with volume discounts. Each ride varies in number of tickets required, with many needing 3-4 tickets per ride. Friday night, starting at 5:00pm, there willbe a special offer of two riders for the price of one. Wristbands, purchased for $25 in advance, are available for unlimited rides on Saturday or Sunday until 6 p.m. After 6, only ride tickets purchased at the ticket booth are valid. Wrist band pre-sale for $25 ends Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.
Wristbands purchased after that time are $30. More information on
purchasing wristbands is available by contacting the City’s Recreation
Office at 310-253-6650.
Fiesta’s diverse musical programming will begin on Friday at 4:30 p.m. with the Susie Hansen Latin Band performing Latin
Jazz. Fiesta-Palooza will start at 6 p.m. and showcase five local teen
bands including Kaliber, Mariachi Clandestino, Those in Favor, Scoop, and Silent Partner.
Vox Femina Los Angeles, a Culver City-based choral group, returns to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Opening Ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 11:45 a.m. The Opening Ceremony will include welcoming remarks from the Mayor and other officials as well as a Color Guard presentation from Culver City’s Boy Scout Troop 113 and acknowledgement of Isabella Bustanoby, a student of Culver City High School’s Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, who designed the first commemorative t-shirt for Fiesta LaBallona.
Mariachi Voces de Mexico de Raul Sanchez will launch the Saturday
performances at noon and they will be followed by Grupo La
Rosa performing heritage dances of Mexico. U.K. Beat will offer British Invasion Rock at 1:45pm, followed by On the Edge Dance Studio performing hip-hop and jazz dance. Sega Genecide will perform‘90s Rock at 3:30 p.m., followed by Versa-Style Dance Company performing hip-hop dance at 4:30 p.m.
At 5:15 p.m. Jeri Curl will offer a performance of ‘80s Funk and beyond with tributes to Prince, Michael Jackson and others. Next, Grupo Folklorico Tsintzuni will present lively heritage dances from the Americas. Starting at 7 p.m., “SoCal Saturday Night” will close the day with Woodie and the Longboards performing a tribute to The Beach Boys and Heartache Tonight performing a tribute to The Eagles.
Cali Rose & The CC Strummers will open the program on Sunday morning, Aug. 28, with the sounds of ukulele music. Upstream will then perform Caribbean music at County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Grupo Folklorico Macias will follow with Mexican heritage dances. Sunday afternoon will feature Richárd Bernard’s OY! Stars performing Klezmer and Mediterranean music at 1:30 p.m., followed by Ho’ Aloha Polynesian Dancers entertaining the audience with
Polynesian heritage dances. Brasil Brazil Show performs at 3:15 p.m., followed by Bulgarian folk dances performed by Xorotroptzi. Igor and Red Elvises closes the entertainment program on Sunday with an hour-long set of Siberian Surf Rock at 5 p.m. Stilt walkers, provided by Red Swan Entertainment, will rove the park both Saturday and Sunday.
In addition to live performances, many other attractions and activities
will be available during Fiesta weekend. On Friday, Aug. 26, seniors
can enjoy several early bird special offers, between 4:30 p.m. and 6
p.m. at the Food Court and selected food trucks. Pony rides and a petting zoo will open Friday at 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Aquacade at the Culver City Municipal Plunge will occur on Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m. There will be a special $1
admission fee on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, for the Aquacade as well as for Lap and Recreation Swimming.
KCET will have an interactive arts and education kiosk at Fiesta on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fiesta goers will be able to meet the L.A. Galaxy Star Squad from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the L.A. Kings Ice Crew from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. The Culver City Historical Society, located within Veterans Memorial Building, will be open
on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The commemorative
Fiestat-shirt will be available for sale at the Recreation Office from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
The Exchange Club’s Beer and Wine Garden returns to Fiesta and will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If visitors come hungry to Fiesta, food trucks and Food Court booths will be offering options to satisfy anyone’s appetite, including a variety of BBQ, global cuisine, and classic American fare as well as many desserts and sweets.
Fiesta La Ballona’s Sustainability Booth will offer activities and
presentations during Fiesta. Energy Efficiency with special guest Bulb Man, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Recycling and You, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., are on Saturday. Fiesta implements a zero waste policy to ensure resource recovery and protect scarce natural resources. The plan encompasses waste reduction, composting, recycling and reuse, changes in consumption habits and encouraging Fiesta participants to view zero waste as a personal evolution in the relationship between waste and people. In an effort to work towards a zero waste Fiesta, volunteers are trained on recycling procedures and will educate visitors on what to place in the recycling bins located throughout the Fiesta grounds. Vendors will be encouraged to donate surplus food to a food bank or food collection center.
The City of Culver City’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Department and the Fiesta La Ballona Committee organize and produce Fiesta along with the assistance of almost 70 volunteers. This year’s Fiesta Committee members include Chair Marcus G. Tiggs, Vice-Chair Celeste Anlauf, Randy Arizmendiz, Karen Gibbs, Ronnie Jayne, Jeanne Min, and Robert C. Wayne.
Sponsors are the backbone of Fiesta and contribute to making the event a great success. For a full list of attractions, activities, live performances, and all
other Fiesta-related details, visit the Fiesta La Ballona website at
www.FiestaLaBallona.org. You can also find Fiesta on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram #FLB2016, and YouTube. A program guide, which includes a map of the event and all scheduled activities, will be available at Fiesta LaBallona.