A harmonic fusion of dance, music, and artistic expression packs three stages and several acres at San Diego’s one-of-a-kind multicultural event – the Sixth Annual Market Creek Plaza Arts & Culture Fest. The festival takes place at Market Creek Plaza, 310 Euclid Ave., on Saturday, October 15, from 12 to 6 p.m.
Each year, thousands of guests flock to southeastern San Diego to experience live cultural music and dance performances, an international market with gift items and world cuisine, hands-on workshops, live art demonstrations, art contests, and a kids’ zone.
Live entertainment will take place on three stages with performers as culturally diverse as the community in which the Arts & Culture Fest takes place – including the Taiko Drummers of San Diego, the PASACAT Philippine Performing Arts Company, Teye sa Thiosanne African Drum & Dance Company, and Taupou Samoa. Local fan favorites Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez, Atomic Groove, and Remembrance will perform on the Celebration Hall Stage inside the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center. The Youth Movement Stage will host performances by a variety of groups that include the Morse High School Dance Team, spoken word with Delawrence McClure, and hip hop with Jehsyn Lavelle. There will also be a first-ever live skateboarding demo during the event.
Two of San Diego’s highly respected museums, the San Diego Museum of Art and Mingei International Museum, play a key role in the event by hosting hands-on workshops, including yarn weaving and African American-style quilting.
Through a partnership with the Center for Community & Cultural Arts (CCCA), 20 pieces from a current Mingei exhibit, Bold Expressions: African American Quilts from the Collection of Corrine Riley, are on display in the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center and can be viewed during the Arts & Culture Fest. Inspired by that exhibit, local residents of southeastern San Diego will be displaying culturally diverse handmade and heirloom quilts, including an African American storytelling quilt, a Hawaiian quilt, and many others.
Other hands-on workshops include drum making with RhythmWorx, West African dance lessons, and learning how to grow your own food with The People’s Produce Project.
Roaming through the event will be the Fern Street Circus and San Diego Lucky Lion Dancers.
Complementing the overall cultural experience will be the International Market, packed with a host of gift items, cultural wares, and international cuisine.
One of the most unique elements of the Arts & Culture Fest is that it is planned and hosted by a diverse team of cultural groups and community residents, creating a meaningful and authentic presentation of each culture. The event is sponsored by the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, a neighborhood strengthening foundation partnering with residents in the Diamond Neighborhoods to create sustainable community change.
Market Creek Plaza is located just south of the Market Street and Euclid Avenue intersection in southeastern San Diego.
To learn more about the Arts & Culture Fest, visit www.ArtsAndCultureFest.com