by Kelsey Uruburu on May 19, 2012
North Park has come a long way in the past 10 years and is now a happening neighborhood full of music, food, art and craft beer. This Sunday, May 20, an artistic homage to the neighborhood is happening from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the North Park Festival of the Arts.
At Sunday’s 16th annual North Park Festival of the Arts you will see works by Ray Street artists, fashion and crafts by the North Park Craft Mafia and a block just for kids that features interactive activities and take-home art projects. There will be five stages, each featuring a sampling of local music, fashion shows, and dance performances. Don’t miss singer/songwriter Maren Parusel at 2:30 p.m. (Main Stage); The Creepy Creeps at 4:20 p.m. (Bar Pink Stage) and Ballet Folklorico Jalisciense at 4:45 p.m. (Dance Stage).
In the week leading up to the festival, artists were invited to set up their easels and capture the urban landscape for the “Plein Air Project.” The results will be displayed at the Artists’ Village, along with works by 40 other artists who span a range of media. In the Artists’ Village, artisans will display and sell their creations from every imaginable medium. Painters from the worlds of oils and acrylics along with impressionists and ethereal watercolorists will exhibit alongside sculptors of clay, metal and ceramics
Returning this year is the Craft Beer Block which will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Ohio Street and will offer your favorite local and craft brews, including Ballast Point, Coronado Brewing Company and The Lost Abbey. You can buy 10 four-ounce samples for $30 in advance or $35 at the door.
North Park Festival of the Arts will take place on University Avenue and 30th Street, and is free to attend. Parking is also free at the North Park parking garage at 29th street and North Park Way. For more information visit northparkfestivalofarts.com.
by Kelsey Uruburu on May 18, 2012
Head downtown this Sunday to celebrate all things Sicilian at the Festa Sicilana in the heart of Little Italy. This marks the 19th year of this colorful and flavorful festival that includes Sicilian music, dance, culture and cuisine.
On Sunday May 20, the streets of San Diego’s Little Italy will come alive in celebration of the 19th Annual Sicilian Festival, from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. The event is free and packed with fun for the whole family. The event features four stages with a wide variety of Sicilian and Italian entertainment, and a noontime parade of dozens of costumed dancers, musicians, and representatives of the Italian organizations in San Diego.
Authentic Sicilian food offerings include Tarantino’s Sausages, and many of Little Italy’s restaurants will be presenting their own Sicilian culinary specialties. Festival visitors will also be able to relax at a wine and beer garden, or shop among the many booths offering Italian-themed artifacts and services. There is even a grape stomp!
The celebration will be packed with ongoing entertainment. In addition to live musical, dance and performance entertainment, there will be Sicilian cooking demonstrations, pasta eating contest, and the opera singing chef. Stop by the Sicilian Cultural Pavilion to view a traditional Sicilian Carretta, a world-renowed Madonnari chalk artist, fishermen repairing their nets, a display of the fishing industry that employed Sicilian Americans in the last century, an authentic produce cart filled with traditional Sicilian vegetables, Renaissance musicians, chalk artists and artisans, and more.
It’s going to be packed so take public transportation if convenient. The Festival has arranged for free parking at the north end of the County Administration Building, located at 1600 Pacific Highway. Hop on a free shuttle to the festival site. Also, since the Festival is held on a Sunday, there is free parking on all the side streets surrounding the festival site.
Festa Siciliana will take place on India Street. For more information about the festival, visit sicilianfesta.com.
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