lummis Day 2015
Lummis Day-The Festival of Northeast Los Angeles, marked its 10th anniversary with an expansion to a three-day event at five Northeast L.A. sites on June 5, 6 and 7, 2015, featuring music, poetry, dance, art, theater and opera representing a rainbow of cultural traditions. Admission to all events was free, as always.
The Festival, supported by a grassroots coalition of arts groups and neighborhood associations, has become a signature cultural event for Northeast Los Angeles. The 2015 program built on the Festival’s multi-cultural tradition, with performances ranging from Italian opera to Mexican mariachi, Celtic to cumbia, country to jazz, middle eastern Ghawazi dancers,” hip-hoppers and folkloric dancers, poets and puppets.
Lummis Day takes its name from Charles Fletcher Lummis, who joined the L.A. Times as the newspaper’s first city editor in 1884. A prolific writer and photographer, Lummis was also one of the city’s first librarians, founded the Southwest Museum and helped introduce the concept of multi-culturalism to Southern California.
Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez, known for his animated and emotional readings, WAS among the artists appearing at Mariachi Plaza.
The three-day festival took place on a variety of sites:
- Friday, June 5, Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights, 4:00pm-8:00pm (in cooperation with the Boyle Heights Farmers Market). Music, dance, poetry and theater.
- Saturday, June 6, Historic Southwest Museum in Mount Washington, 10:00am-4:00pm (in partnership with the Arroyo Arts Collective). Art exhibits, a tribute to the late artist, mentor and printmaker Richard Duardo, poetry and music.
- Saturday, June 6, York Park in Highland Park, 2:00pm-6:00pm. Opera, dance, jazz and rock music.
- Sunday, June 7: Lummis Home in Montecito Heights, 10:30 am-5:00pm: Poetry, music, crafts exhibits.
- Sunday, June 7: Historic Southwest Museum in Mt Washington, 12:noon-5:00pm: Art exhibits, music.
- Sunday, June 7 Sycamore Grove Park in Sycamore Grove/Highland Park., 12 noon-7:00 pm. Music, dance, puppets, storytelling and other family activities
Participating arts groups for the 2015 Festival included the Arroyo Arts Collective, the Pacific Opera Project, Casa 0101, the Music Center, Boyle Heights’ Neighborhood Music School, the Rock Rose Gallery, the Avenue 50 Studio and Poets & Writers Inc.
Diavolo Institute Youth Performance Company from STAR Prep Academy PERFORMED at Mariachi Plaza.
Alt-Latin band Cuñao performed at Sycamore Grove on Sunday, June 7.
The Lummis Day Festival is sponsored by Time Warner Cable, Occidental College, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Hon. Gilbert Cedillo- L.A. Council District 1, Hon. Jose Huizar- L.A. Council District 14, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Highland Park Heritage Trust, METRO, the Autry National Center, Greater Cypress Park Neighborhood Council, and Poets & Writers Inc. through a grant it has received from the James Irvine Foundation. Other supporters include Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council, Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council, the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council, Fresco Community Markets and the Society of the Spectacle. Media sponsors are the Eastsider, KPFK public radio 90.7, the Boulevard Sentinel, and Brooklyn & Boyle. This festival is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. This concert is sponsored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis.
