by Noella Noelophile®
Louise Reichlin & Dancers/ LA Choreographers & Dancers. (Photograph by Paul Antico, courtesy of San Pedro Festival of the Arts. )
Hooray, it’s almost the weekend! And here’s one more reason to enjoy this one.
San Pedro Festival of the Arts happens this Saturday and Sunday, September 19th and 20th. Now in its ninth year, San Pedro Festival of the Arts is a free outdoor family event, showcasing San Pedro’s creative talent.
And the heart of the festival will be the dancers.
5/9/15: Photograph taken the Encore Dance Company 2015 dance concert, Evoke. Photo jim.mccormack@mac.com. Courtesy of San Pedro Festival of the Arts.
Both days, San Pedro Festival of the Arts brings dance, music and crafts to San Pedro’s Ports O’ Call village. Artists have been invited to display their work for free, live musical performances are happening, both days, and handmade artisans will be selling their work.
Kids will especially love the martial arts demonstrations, which begin at 11:00 both Saturday and Sunday morning, courtesy of Journey’s Martial Arts Academy. You’ll find them at the booth displaying visual and martial arts.
Then, starting at 1:00 Saturday afternoon, a wide range of community groups and professional dance companies will perform on the Dance Stage. Festivalgoers get to see international dance styles ranging from flamenco to tap, jazz, and hip hop. But not just any hip hop group: Sunday’s featured “Jrick and the Hot Flashers” are a community group of 50+ dancers, showing off the latest moves!
MKM Bollystars Dance Company. (Photograph courtesy of San Pedro Festival of the Arts, and used with permission.)
Among the new performers at this year’s San Pedro Festival of the Arts will be the MKM Bollystars, performing traditional and fusion Indian dance; Mojacar and Studio Flamenco; and Sirenesque Bellydance. Meanwhile, B.E. Dance L.A., another new addition, combines modern dance with another visual art: they create paintings in the course of their performances!
Now, if you wish you could do some dancing yourself, you’ll get that chance! Saturday’s Sirenesque Bellydance, performing at 2:05, makes audience participation a part of their show–as do Peoples Place, a country western group performing at 2:25. Here’s a link to the schedule of dance performances.
(Courtesy of San Pedro Festival of the Arts, and used with permission.)
Best of all, the opening three performances on the Dance Stage, on Saturday afternoon, will feature local school and community groups. And in a San Pedro Festival of the Arts tradition, there will be free prize drawings between performances!
Then, at 4:30 each afternoon, a live band takes the stage. On Saturday, Identity Crisis will be playing 70’s, 80’s, 90’s Motown, R&B and current dance hits. On Sunday, GRAMMY-nominated Americana/Cajun/Zydeko group Lisa Haley & the Zydekats are set to spice things up, musically speaking.
Oh–and as if you needed one more incentive–parking is free, too! See you there.
The ninth annual San Pedro Festival of the Arts happens Saturday and Sunday, September 19th and 20th, from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, at Ports O’ Call Village, 1199 Nagoya Way, near the intersection of 6th and Harbor Drive, in San Pedro. Admission and parking are free.