78 FREE SUMMER CONCERTS
SPONSORED BY LOS ANGELES COUNTY ANNOUNCED
Concerts begin July 8
23 are part of the County’s Gang Initiative
Sounds ranging from contemporary Zydeco and all-girl classic rock to Balinese gamelan and Latin Jazz will echo from all corners of Los Angeles County this summer. Seventy-eight free concerts are scheduled July to October in parks, plazas, libraries and arts centers. A complete schedule is available online. Go to www.lacountyarts.org and click on “Free Concerts in Public Sites.”
Twenty-three of the concerts are part of the Los Angeles County PARKS AFTER DARK (PAD) Program, a component of the County’s Gang Initiative intended to reduce gangs and gang violence. These concerts will take place at Ted Watkins and Franklin Roosevelt Parks in Florence Firestone and Pamela Park in Duarte. The goal of PAD is to strengthen individuals in communities and influence them to see their communities and neighbors in a better light. PAD will provide youth with productive activities to decrease the likelihood of participation in at-risk behavior. The PAD program implemented at the three County parks Thursdays to Saturdays between July 8 and September 5, 2010 also includes extended park hours, additional programming and activities for all community residents, cultural and educational activities and employment opportunities for local youth.
Since its inception in 1947, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission has sponsored free concerts at community venues throughout the County to provide access to quality music programming representing the diversity of County residents. Except for the PAD concerts which are supported through Gang Initiative funds, each of the five County Supervisorial offices funds the concerts in its district.
A sampling of free concerts across the Supervisorial Districts includes:
- Zydeco music from Lisa Haley and the Zydekats at Memorial Park Bandshell in Pasadena August 10
- Mariachi Divas at Cesar Chavez Amphitheater in Baldwin Park August 19
- Music from the cultures of Indonesia by Bali and Beyond at Rancho Cordillera del Norte in Northridge August 28
- Susie Hansen Latin Jazz Band at Veteran’s Park in Culver City August 29
- Taiko drumming from TAIKOPROJECT in the East Village Arts District in Long Beach October 9
Artists who perform at Free Concerts in Public Sites are chosen by the concert presenters from the Arts Commission’s Musicians Roster featuring more than 100 L.A. County-based groups representing a range of musical styles. This online directory is accessible to the general public. Go to www.lacountyarts.org and click on “Musicians Roster.” The roster is searchable by key word, name of artist, and by music style. Artists included are chosen by a panel of experienced and respected music professionals based on artistic excellence, cultural diversity and the ability to work cooperatively with other organizations as representatives of the Free Concerts program.
Additional entertainment options can be found on the L.A. region’s leading cultural web portal. Consult the Arts Commission-sponsored Calendar on www.ExperienceLA.com. The calendar is searchable by several criteria - including “free” - and provides links to transportation information.
The Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Laura Zucker, Executive Director, provides leadership in cultural services of all disciplines for the largest county in the United States, encompassing 88 municipalities. In addition to the Free Concerts in Public Sites program and support of the L.A. County Cultural Calendar on ExperienceLA.com, the Arts Commission provides leadership and staffing to support the regional blueprint for arts education, Arts for All; administers a grants program that funds more than 300 nonprofit arts organizations annually; oversees the County’s Civic Art Program for capital projects; programs the John Anson Ford Theatres; and funds the largest arts internship program in the country in conjunction with the Getty Foundation. The Arts Commission also produces the L.A. Holiday Celebration broadcast nationally. The 2010-11 President of the Arts Commission is Ronald D. Rosen.
