This Saturday afternoon in Santa Monica, the 18th Street Art Center will present its first Beer, Art and Music Festival. The event, the first of its kind on the West Side, features offerings from more than twenty craft breweries, all free with the price of admission. These include standbys such as Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada as well as lesser known labels like Ballast Point from San Diego. Proceeds benefit the art center, which maintains year-round programming and international artist exchange programs.
Five bands will be on hand during the afternoon. Also, three different gallery shows will be up and running. Rick Mendoza's gritty downtown LA photography will be on display. Create:Fixate, another LA-based arts organization will be showcasing emerging talent as part of a group show. Resident artist studios will also be open. And for those planning on coming by velocipede, a bike valet will offer free parking.
How do beer, art, and music go together? Nicole Gordillo, development associate at 18th Street and curator of the event, considers it a form of "cross-pollination," craft beer fans will be exposed to great art, and vice versa. And she adds, "We didn't want to do another silent auction."
