Our Pick of the Week takes place at 18th Street Arts Center…all weekend long. Yes its two events, Saturday, October 25th a chic benefit art event takes place from 6-10pm to celebrate twenty five years! Then Sunday, October 26, 2014 from 1pm- 5pm, 18th Street Arts Center is brings back its renowned BAM Fest (Beer Art & Music Festival). Be aware they both have an admission charge but it goes to a great cause – Art – and supports 18th Street Arts Center!
Saturday’s event will honor all t
hat has happened at 18th Street Arts Center over the last 25 years. The benefit will feature an art sale hosted in partnership with Saatchi Art including notable past and present 18th Street artists, historic self-guided tours, unique performance art presentations by Barbara T. Smith, Dan Kwong, and Marcus Kuiland-Nazario, video art installations, and more. Not to mention musical entertainment by Angel Luis Figueroa & Los Tres Caballeros and DJ sets by artist Ofunne Obiamiwe. Also, we truly can’t forget to mention that visual artist, folk singer, and 18th Street alum Phranc will be leading the evening’s festivities.
Then the weekend celebration continues with BAM Fest which features specialty beers from over 40 craft breweries, artisanal wine, spirits, live bands, food trucks and more.
The event is a steal, with tickets priced at just $45 before October 24th and $50 at the door (that is if tickets aren’t sold out by then!). BAM Fest attendees love spending a Sunday afternoon sipping in the sun, engaging with artists, and exploring significant artworks while listening to booty-shakin’ music. But what really makes this event special for its guests is that they know that all proceeds benefit 18th Street Arts Center, a 25-year-old, influential non-profit arts organization in Santa Monica. It is a culturally infused event that benefits a great cause.
WIN TICKETS HERE: EMAIL the code phrase to LAArtParty@gmail.com and you will automatically be entered into the raffle. CODE PHRASE: Celebrate all weekend at 18th Street Arts Center! YOU HAVE tiLL TONIGHT (THURSDAY) to ENTER!
LA Art Party is raffling off tickets for TWO EVENTS. You must specify which contest you are entering…ANNIVERSARY and BAM FEST or BOTH! You MUST email your phone # or you WILL NOT be entered into the raffle.
Participating breweries have been carefully selected by the team and represent the best of the craft beer industry. The 40+ breweries range from big to small, including the popular and widely known New Belgium Brewing Company and Angel City Brewing Company to newly launched breweries including Three Weavers Brewing Company, whose main goal is to cultivate community through beer. Another new brewery on the scene is Santa Monica Brew Works which has given 18th Street additional support as a lead sponsor.
See image: BAM Fest, photo by Bernie Wire
The diverse craft beer offerings at 18th Street’s Beer Art & Music Festival present a range of styles for tasting enjoyment. For the beer connoisseur, this year’s BAM Fest is showcasing limited release seasonal beers such as Hangar 24 Craft Brewery’s Seasonal Oktoberfest and dark strong ales like Brother Thelonious Belgium Style Abbey Ale from North Coast Brewing Company, which partners with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in support of Jazz education. Along with their Golden Road Hefeweizen, Golden Road Brewing will also be featuring their Might As Well IPL, a lager highlighting bold passion fruit and pear contributed by Galaxy and Calypso hops.
A special bonus for BAM Fest attendees will be the opportunity to participate in 20-minute mini-educational sessions called ‘Crash Courses’ by craft beer, wine, and art experts. These fun and engaging classes cover a wide range of topics such as how to pick out food flavors from different beers or how art could be paired with some of the best wine and beer. And for those who prefer fermented grapes to hops there will also be an area to sample some of the nation’s finest wines hosted by Wine Enthusiast, Allie Merrick as well as non-alcoholic home-brewed sodas by the Maltose Falcons, America’s oldest Home-Brewing Club. This year BAM is also including Mama’s Boy Infusions, the one of a kind tequila fruit infusion with an original chili kick as well as the semi-sweet, orange-blossom honey mead of Golden Coast Mead’s Mirth in a Bottle. Clearly BAM also has your delicious and exciting alternatives to all of its many craft beers.
The tunes lined up f
or BAM Fest is just as diverse as the beer samples. From the Latin infused rhythmic sounds of KoTolàn whose songs, celebrating cultural diversity, are sung in Japanese, Spanish, and English to the dance-inducing soulful funk of Nick Shattuck; the featured music at 18th Street’s BAM Festival is sure to make you move. The young duo of the new hit band Trapdoor Social will take attendees on a musical tour with their passionate alt-pop music that is inspired by their desire to bring awareness to solar and other renewable energy sources.
BAM attendees will also be able to do more than just see or purchase art; they will actually be able to interact with and visit the studios of 18th Street Arts Center’s artists-in-residence and arts organizations like Otis College of Art and Design’s MFA in Public Practice program. As one of 18th Street Arts Center’s patrons remarked, ‘There is something to be learned, or something to stimulate the imagination at 18th Street all the time because it is a place where art is made…not just exhibited, but actually created.’ Through BAM and other events throughout the year, 18th Street Arts Center incites its public through challenging art that sparks dialogue.
Need a little something to soak up all the scrumptious brews? Naturally you can’t have a festival in Los Angeles without food trucks. A diverse selection of six food trucks such as will provide a bounty of signature dishes that should keep your grumbling stomach at bay. Food Trucks include DogTown Dogs, Baby’s Badass Burgers, Cousins Maine Lobster, India Jones Chow, Meat-the-Greek and the Border Grill Truck. The science, technology and culinary art of NITROPOD, frozen liquid nitrogen desserts, will also be a part of the gourmet food at this year’s event. With the marriage of beer, art, and music, BAM Fest has brewed a one-of-a-kind fundraising event. This is one craft beer festival not to be missed! All proceeds benefit 18th Street Arts Center, a Santa Monica 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
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his year’s 5th annual BAM Fest is part of 18th Street’s 25th Anniversary weekend that starts Saturday (with the art event) and continues on Sunday with BAM Fest. There is a combo Ticket admission available. Purchase Tickets HERE.
18is25 Anniversary Event – Saturday – October 25, 6-10pm; Tickets: $125; http://18thstreet.org/vip
BAM – Sunday – October 26, 1-5pm; pre-sale tickets: $45 before October 24; $50 at the door http://www.18thstreet.org/bam
18th Street Arts Center is located at 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404; Phone: 310.453.3711For more information about both events…the Anniversary Event (Saturday-Oct 25) & BAM Fest 2014 (Sunday-Oct 26) or 18th Street Arts Center visit: http://www.18thstreet.org
