Fiesta La Ballona, Culver City’s Party in the Park, will be held all three days this weekend at Vets Park — live performances, carnival rides, games, 100 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. www.fiestalaballona.org or 310.253.6650.
Fiesta hours:
Friday – 4:30 to 10.
Saturday – 11 to 10.
Sunday – 11 to 9.
Only limited parking is available. Alternative transportation includes Culver CityBus, walking or biking.
Angel City Derby Girls and Palms Cycle will offer a secure bike valet for Saturday and Sunday bicyclists between 11 and 6.
Culver CityBus provides bicycle racks to encourage bike riding and public transportation. www.culvercitybus.com
or 310.253.6500.
Dial-A-Ride paratransit shuttle will operate Saturday 11 to 8, Sunday 11 to 7. The pick-up/drop-off zone will be in front of City Hall, 9770 Culver Blvd.
Music and dance performances as well as special interactive activities are free. Food, drinks and other attractions are optional and an additional cost.
Carnival ride tickets are $1 with volume discounts. Each ride varies in number of tickets required, with many needing three or four tickets per ride.
Friday night, starting at 5, there will be a special offer of two riders for the price of one. Wristbands, purchased in advance for $25, are available for unlimited rides on Saturday or Sunday until 6.
After 6, only ride tickets purchased at the ticket booth are valid. Wristbands purchased after 7 p.m. Friday are $30. Call 310.253.6650.
Diverse musical programming will begin at 4:30 Friday with the Susie Hansen Latin Band performing Latin Jazz. Fiesta-Palooza will start at 6 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 at 11:45. Highights: Welcoming remarks from Mayor Jim Clarke and other officials as well as a color guard presentation from Boy Scout Troop 113 and acknowledgement of Isabella Bustanoby, a student of Culver City High School’s Academy of Visual and Performing Arts program. She designed the first commemorative t-shirt for Fiesta La Ballona.
Mariachi Voces de Mexico de Raul Sanchez will launch the Saturday performances at 12 noon. They will be followed by Grupo La Rosa performing heritage dances of Mexico. U.K. Beat will offer British Invasion Rock at 1:45, followed byOn the Edge Dance Studio performing hip-hop and jazz dance. Sega Genecide will perform ’90s Rock at 3:30, followed by the Versa-Style Dance Company performing hip-hop dance at 4:30.
At 5:15, 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, “SoCal Saturday Night” will close the day with a two-hour tribute to the Beach Boys, featuring Woodie and the Longboards and the Eagles featuring Heartache Tonight.
Cali Rose & The CC Strummers will open the program on Sunday morning with the sounds of ukulele music. Upstream will perform Caribbean music at 11:45. Grupo
Folklorico Macias will follow with Mexican heritage dances. Sunday afternoon will feature Richárd Bernard’s OY!Stars performing Klezmer and Mediterranean music at 1:30pm, followed by Ho’Aloha Polynesian Dancers entertaining the audience with Polynesian heritage dances. Brasil Brazil Show performs at 3:15, 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. 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, seniors can enjoy several early- bird specials, between 4:30 and 6 at the Food Court and selected food trucks.
Pony rides and a petting zoo will open Friday at 5, and at 11 on Saturday and Sunday. The Aquacade at the Plunge will occur on Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4. 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 to 6.
Fiesta-goers can meet the L.A. Galaxy Star Squad from 11 to 3, and the Kings Ice Crew from 4 to 6:30.
The Culver City Historical Society, inside the Vets Auditorium, will be open on Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon to 4.
Commemorative Fiesta tee-shirts will be sold at the Recreation Office from 10 to 4 on Saturday and Sunday.
The Exchange Club’s Beer & Wine Garden returns to Fiesta. It will be open all three days.
Fiesta’s Sustainability Booth will offer activities and presentations during Fiesta. On Saturday, see Energy Efficiency with special guest Bulb Man, from 11 to 3, Recycling and You, from 3 to 8.
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.
To work toward a zero waste Fiesta, volunteers are trained on recycling procedures. They will educate visitors on what to place in the recycling bins lthroughout the Fiesta grounds.
Vendors will be encouraged to donate surplus food to a food bank or food collection center.
Fiesta Committee members include Chair Marcus Tiggs, Vice-Chair Celeste Anlauf, Randy Arizmendiz, Karen Gibbs, Ronnie Jayne, Jeanne Min and Robert C. Wayne.
For a full list of attractions, activities, live performances, and other details, see www.FiestaLaBallona.org.
