Save the Date…Thursday, July 16, Montana Ave Art Walk and Music Festival takes place.

It’s summer and it’s a great time to head to Santa Monica to enjoy local artists and musicians up and down Montana from 7th Street all the way up to about 17th….

Montana Ave will be buzzing from 5 pm to 9:00 pm with many of the businesses participating in the event as well as bands and local performers.

Shops like Texture: A Sweater Store and More, Partner’s Trust, Sweet Lady Jane, Golden Wellness, Ten Women Gallery, and more will all be open late to take part of the FREE art event.

I’ll be singing some jazz with one of my bands, Kat & the Jazz Birds in front of the Partner’s Trust….you may remember, this real estate business throws a fun art party. See details below.

Start on the bottom end of Montana and pop by Texture: the Sweater Store and More.

If you are not familiar with this store, Texture is known for its beautiful scarves (in addition to it’s fab sweaters).

This is a perfect time to buy a wrap for the summer. A great accessory item to have while you are spending the day at the beach when that sun drops and the chill picks up.

Of course they also have fabulous sweaters…light ones too….perfect to throw in you beach bag for the evening.

Here, guitarist Peter Skrabak will be performing. He’ll be playing some classical and standards. A classically trained guitarist, Skrabak starting playing at just seven years of age and played his first professional gig at fourteen. He worked as a bassist early on, and has played just about every style of music.

I was quite touched by this story (from his website). Here it is in his words. “My first trip out of the then communist Czechoslovakia took me to Hamburg, Germany with a top-40 band that had special permission to travel to Western Europe. It was that first trip that made me realize I wanted to explore the world which was close to impossible in those days as the government would only allow visa under the strictest of conditions. The following year when the band was allowed to leave once again, I defected. I played the two week tour in Hamburg and after the last gig I snuck out of my hotel room in the middle of the night and never looked back.”

Skrabak has built a successful career here in the U.S. He has lived and performed in a variety of places, even Hawaii. He is a noted songwriter as well. Skrabak worked with legendary sax player Hollis Gentry, and while in the band, he wrote a song (NO PODRAS) which was performed by Gentry and would later become a huge international hit for the Mexican artist Cristian Castro.  http://www.peterskrabak.com

TEXTURE: the Sweater Store & More is located at 716 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA; (310) 393-0707; See FB page.

Ten Women Gallery will also be participating….of course. This a vibrant artist’s co-operative gallery currently showcases over twenty local women artists. You know they will be out in full force showing all the beautiful art. It’s a great place to purchase gifts for birthdays or hostess gifts for all those summer parties.  Come on kids…support the arts!

Ten Women Gallery, 1128 Montana Ave., 310-393-6254;   www.tenwomengallery.com

At Golden Wellness, stop by to see the art of Irit E. Cohen. There will be table & tent set up where Irit will display hand made art gifts + prints on wood. See www.QuirkyCreatures.etsy.com

Golden Wellness will display its Ultrasonic Oil Diffuser (Aromatherapy) and you’ll find some music here as well.

Golden Wellness Rx Pharmacy, 1202 Montana Ave., Unit C; (310)451-2828
www.GoldenWellnessRx.com

Michael Stars will be open as well…The fashion store specializes in contemporary clothing with luxury essentials for LA’s hip beach lifestyle. They will be offering a 30 % discount throughout the store for tonight’s event. Michael Stars, 1233 Montana Ave; 310-260-5558; http://www.michaelstars.com/

If you’ve never been to L’Occitane…you’ll find the most wonderful smelling soaps and bath salts, oils and more. Stop in and pick up some goodies for yourself or a friend. L’Occitane, 1301 Montana Ave;(310) 393-7040; http://usa.loccitane.com/

Partner’s Trust will be having a fun art party tonight and will be featuring several artists.

One is an accomplished sculptress named Dawn Alane. Check out her website below, she has some beautiful works. She has enjoyed success in both her modeling and yoga career, and now focusing on her art.

Alane creates commissions for many Hollywood elite and continues to study her craft at Santa Monica College. www.dawnalanesculptress.com

The illustration of Nate Pottker will also be on view at Partner’s Trust. He is also a musician who performs regularly. Music and art are both an important part of his life. H

is latest series is titled in which he pays homage to musicians that have influenced him. http://natepottker.com/art/

Kat & the Jazz Birds will be performing on the northwest corner 13th Montana, next to Partner’s Trust (1333 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403) from 5:30 – 8:30 pm.

We will be doing jazz standards as well as some old time swing. You will recognize some well known melodies such as All of Me, Stormy Weather, My funny Valentine, Fever, Fly me to the Moon, Almost like Being in Love and more. We will also be paying tribute to legendary artists such as Peggy Lee, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Wanda Jackson and more.

Photo by Nick Busco

For more information about Kat & the Jazz Birds, and my four other bands at www.KathyLeonardo.com

Partner’s Trust, 1333 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA; (310) 382-8500; http://www.thepartnerstrust.com/

Kiehl’s is also getting in to the act….stop by to see art and enjoy specials throughout the store.  The art of Linsley Lambert will be featured. http://linsleylambert.com  Kiehl’s, 1516 Montana Ave. http://www.kiehls.com/

ABS affordable luxury caters to the contemporary woman’s never-ending craving for fashion – to wear the latest trends and look fabulous, whether at work or play, with the fabric quality and attention to detail found in designer collections. ABS, 1533 Montana Ave; 310-393-8770;  http://www.absstyle.com/

At Sweet Lady Jane, in addition to being tempted by all kinds of tasty treats…you can catch the talented guitarist Milo Gonzalez.

He is self-taught in both classical guitar and flamenco guitar. Gonzalez has performed at well known music festivals such as Coachella, Lightning in a Bottle, Electric Picnic, Boom Festival, and Farmaid.  https://soundcloud.com/milo-gonzalez

Sweet Lady Jane, 1631 Montana Ave. 310 254-9949; http://www.sweetladyjane.com/
 
Of course you may have your favorite store on Montana….so come on out and visit. The event runs from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Enjoy the live music and stroll down the Avenue (from 6th to 17th). See ya out there. http://montanaave.com/