Abbot Kinney Festival Sunday in Venice

One of Southern California’s most popular community festivals—the annual Abbot Kinney Festival to be held in Venice on Sunday, Sept. 28, 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM—is eco-chic with its new “Connected” Green Lifestyle Area showcasing art, music, community groups, and businesses that inspire healthy living. Included in the wide range of environmentally friendly fun will be a gourmet green food court curated by Chef CJ of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef,” sustainable art workshops, a bike valet station sponsored by Whole Foods Market, and test drives of alternative-fuel vehicles by Drive Clean California.

“The ‘Connected’ Green Lifestyle Area is an exciting new addition to the festival this year,” says Elisa James, President of the Abbot Kinney District Association, which founded the festival in 1984. “Unlike other green initiatives, the intent of Pink Cloud’s ‘Connected’ is to shift the focus from products to people and showcase ‘green’ not as a trend, but as a firmly grounded movement supported by people who demonstrate their care for the environment and the community.”

The free festival, which stretches along Abbot Kinney Blvd. from Venice Blvd. to Main St. in Venice, includes three live music stages — one produced by acclaimed The Hotel Café, which launched its own record label this year and will debut its “Live from The Hotel Café” on iTunes next month; Clif Bar’s punk bike polo demonstration; 350 arts & crafts booths; three food courts; and a beer garden featuring Anheuser-Busch’s Michelob Amber Bock and Shock Top.

The Youth & Family Courtyard presented by Inside Out Community Arts includes amusement attractions, cultural performances, and art activities for kids and parents. Special guest Camryn Manheim of CBS-TV’s “Ghost Whisperer” has created her own line of t-shirts with slogans like “Venice Girls … 10 Degrees Cooler” for sale at the festival with net proceeds benefiting the Venice Family Clinic.

Parking shuttles will be available from public lots west of Abbot Kinney Blvd., in Playa Vista, and in other locations. For more information about the festival, visit www.abbotkinney.org

The annual Abbot Kinney Festival has grown in size and popularity to become the second largest community event of its kind in Southern California, attracting nearly 150,000 people from throughout the region.The festival is produced by the Abbot Kinney District Association, a 501(c)(3) organization established in 1984 to promote the community and its resources. Proceeds from the event will benefit local youth organizations and community beautification projects.The 2008 Abbot Kinney Festival is sponsored by Anheuser-Busch; Clif Bar; Shell Vacations Club; Whole Foods Market; Honest Tea; Dr. Lynn Kerew, D.C., M.P.H., Family Chiropractic, www.lynnkerew.com ; and www.DriveClean.CA.gov with media support by The Sound 100.3.

The Youth & Family Court is sponsored by Kaiser Permanente; Reeds, Inc.; George Chung Realtors; Rotary Club of Los Angeles; and Literati Water. The Connected Green Lifestyle Area is supported by Heineken, Hitch Couture, Visionary Media House, Jointlab.net, Astrid Design Studio, The Reuse People, Go Green Moving, Green Ambassadors, Million Trees LA, Action Sports Environmental Coalition, Bossa Wines, BioSmart Packaging, 360 Vodka, G2 Gallery, Gjelina, Equator Books, Vert, Bazar, Eden's Green Closet, Renovo, The Inconvenient Bag, Skatebook, Opportunity Green, and mulTEEpurpose® with media promotion provided by Yourdailythread.com, ecopop.com, GOOD Magazine, Greenopia, Ecorazzi.com, Greengrownandsexy.com, Eco LA, EcoBella, and EcoStiletto.

Organized by the Abbot Kinney District Association, this year’s festival is produced by co-chairs Kim Sharp and Elisa James in partnership with Pink Cloud Events, Inside Out Community Arts, The Hotel Café, and the Air Conditioned Supper Club-Venice. Marketing and sponsorship services are provided by Melissa Richardson Banks of CauseConnect, A Little Birdy Told Me, and New Leaf Creative Strategies.

Participants & Events
BROOKS STAGE produced by The Hotel Café:
12:00 PM – WAZ
12:40 PM – Buddy
1:20 PM – Laura Jansen
2:00 PM – Holly Conlan
2:40 PM – Steve Reynolds
3:20 PM – Brian Wrigh
t4:00 PM – Jesca Hoop
4:40 PM – Greg Laswell
5:20 PM – Chris Pierce

Youth & Family Stage produced by Inside Out Community Arts:
9:00 AM – Drum Circle at California St. and Abbot Kinney Blvd.
10:00 AM – Family Parade
10:15 AM – Drumming on Stage
10:40 AM – Mama Maria
11:00 AM – Yeh Dede
11:40 AM – Ina Buckner-Barnette, the Sunshine Storyteller
12:10 PM – Aradhana Silvermoon
12:40 PM – Maesyn
1:10 PM – Everybody Dance
1:40 PM – Kids on Stage
2:20 PM – Inside Out Community Arts
2:40 PM – Stephen Longfellow Fiske
3:30 PM – Super Broke Brass and Tin and Strings
4:30 PM – Preeta & The Peace Makers
5:15 PM – The Luminaries

Andalusia Stage:
10:00 AM – Kathy Leonardo
10:30 AM – Terese Carlton
11:00 AM – Dicki Fliszar
11:30 AM – d henry fenton
12:15 PM – Holly Long
1:00 PM – Kim Michalowsk
i1:45 PM – Eric Schwartz
2:30 PM – Kathrin Shorr
3:30 PM – Molly Venter
4:30 PM – Paul Chesne
5:30 PM – Matt Ellis

PALMS STAGE produced by Air Conditioned Supper Club–Venice:
10:00 AM – Too Pretty for Porn
10:45 AM – A Warrior Nation
11:30 AM – TBD
12:15 PM – With a Bible and a Gun
1:00 PM – Hi Stereo
1:45 PM – Stephanie Quayle
2:30 PM – War Tapes
3:25 PM – Miss Willie Brown
4:20 PM – TBD
5:15 PM – Honey Honey

“Connected” Green Lifestyle Area
Curated by Pink Cloud Events, this engaging festival area will be located on Milwood Ave. between newly opened G2 Gallery dedicated to environmental art and Gjelina, an upscale restaurant opening this fall. It includes the following:

· Mini-Terrarium Workshop with Robert Quinn and the Green Ambassadors
Learn how to an eco-system works and take home a beautiful reminder of how fragile our environment can be. Artist Robert Quinn has educated the Green Ambassadors at the Environmental Charter High School on his process of building mini-terrariums, which they will share with 200 visitors at Connected. $15 donation requested. Only 200 terrariums will be available.

· Million Trees L.A. and Smart Gardening:
Los Angeles property owners can adopt a tree at the Million Trees L.A. station. One- and five-gallon trees are available for free, with a completed application. Others who are unable to adopt are still welcome to participate in the adoption process by tying a housewarming wish to thank the new owner of a happy tree for making a greener L.A.

· Gourmet Green Food Court:
An Abbot Kinney local and Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” finalist, Chris Jacobsen (aka CJ) has curated a gourmet green food court that features some of Los Angeles' best restaurants focused on fresh, local, organic, and sustainable menu items that will be sold at street fair prices. A true Californian at heart, CJ is a private chef who has worked for the likes of author and columnist Arianna Huffington and the Marciano Family of the Guess Corporation. An ex-volleyball player standing at 6'8" — it seems everyone looks up to him. CJ is motivated to live life to the fullest having overcome testicular cancer. He has a competitive spirit and the utmost confidence in his culinary skills.

· Artists Lounge:
This exclusive area features works from some of L.A.'s most talented artists who engage in dialogue about the environment. Access to the Artists Lounge is open to the public at the festival from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM followed by restricted access for the rest of the day to friends and family of our green artists and sponsors who are 21 years of age and older.

· Neighborhood Tours:
Fallen Fruit will take attendees on tours to highlight free fruit in public areas, and artist J. Michael Walker will be conducting a special tour of Abbot Kinney history in line with his project, All the Saints.

· Skateboarding:
The Action Sports Environmental Coalition and Skatebook are bringing professional skateboarders to do a community-based workshop and talk about the street’s influence on skateboarding.