On Saturday, July 27, Long Beach residents have the opportunity to enjoy a new tradition taking root in the 9th District: Councilmember Steve Neal’s second annual Latin Jazz and Blues Festival, to be held at Houghton Park. While many summer music festivals exist in Long Beach, this is the only one in North Long Beach above Del Amo Boulevard. Neal created it to bring a type of event normally reserved for Downtown or the Eastside into uptown and activate his district’s largest public gathering space.
“They have concerts in the park around Long Beach, but unfortunately we didn’t have anything like that in the north,” said Neal of why he organized the festival last year. “So we figured this would be a great opportunity for us to pull together an event at Houghton Park–a great regional park…We saw this as an opportunity to bring the community together [and] highlight local talent.”
Playing off of the idea that music is a universal language that reaches all, the Latin Jazz and Blues Festival hopes to create dialogue, cultural tolerance and collaboration within members of the diverse communities in North Long Beach.
“Jazz is a universal music. It crosses cultural and ethnic barriers…[I] thought it would be a good concept for the residents in the North; something everybody could participate in,” said Neal. “Also, Jazz and blues, is a great instrument to bring the community out.”
Saturday’s festival will showcase some of the hottest local bands in blues and Latin jazz including The Jazz Angels, The New Blues Revolution, Dat EZ Band, Box Car 7, The Susie Hansen Latin Jazz Band and returning featured band DW3. Each band has their own unique sound and flavor that will be sure to keep Long Beach residents dancing all day.
In addition to music, the festival is a family-friendly community event as well. Kids can enjoy designated kid zones with face painting, balloon art, and bounce castles. Also, to satisfy the inner foodie, be on the look-out for your favorite Long Beach mobile food trucks as well as a host of great vendors. One of the best attributes of all: this event is totally free to the public. Neal wanted to make sure to provide something that was no cost to the residents: all they have to do is bring their lawn chairs, picnic baskets and just have a good day at the park.
The Latin Jazz and Blues Festival will take place Saturday, July 27 from noon to 8PM at Houghton Park, 6301 Myrtle Avenue.
{FG_GEOMAP [33.868135,-118.18387999999999] FG_GEOMAP}