Everything Under The Sun: Abbot Kinney Fest Returns September 27
Abbot Kinney Festival (Photo by Jakob N. Layman)
It's Venice's biggest event of the year. The 31st annual Abbot Kinney Festival returns Sunday, September 27, with a one-mile stretch of arts and crafts, live music, pop-up galleries and food trucks, attracting thousands of visitors to the neighborhood's trendiest boulevard.
The free-to-attend, one-day only event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., shuts down auto traffic between Main St. and Venice Blvd. to pack in more than 300 vendor booths offering art, jewelry, apparel, home decor and other goods made by artists and designers local to Venice and from around the Southland.
Bands and DJs will perform among five stages, and for the 21-and-older set, three beer gardens will quench a hot afternoon thirst. Access to the beer garden is $5, or a "fast pass" wristband for $35 jumps you to the front of the line and gets you one free drink. For family fun, KidsQuad at Westminster Ave. features rides and activities. Dogs are welcome to the festival too, as long as they stay leashed and away from the lobster rolls.
Westminster Ave. will also be the site for more sidewalk chalk muraling this year. Street Art Projects, the Venice-based initiative for art in public spaces, will transform the pavement into one big impermanent art piece as pro muralists and young artists in training collaborate at the interactive event.
Several food trucks will roll in for the event. Expect to see Baby's Badass Burgers, Cousins Main Lobster, Kogi BBQ and more. There will be a sweet selection of ice cream too including McConnells, Jeni's, and Three Twins.
The Abbot Kinney Festival Association (AKFA) is a non-profit organization that invests all proceeds from the event into the community. More than $250,000 has been donated since the launch of its grant program. Past recipients include Venice Symphony orchestra, Venice Community Garden, Venice Oceanarium, Venice Historical Society and the Venice Skateboard Association.