Go Metro Weekends, Central Avenue Jazz Festival

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Songstress Mekala Session shows her range at the 2014 event. (CAJF Facebook page)
View from the stage at last year’s festival. (CAJF Facebook page)
The Dunbar Hotel was built in 1928 to host the NAACP’s first national convention on the West Coast. In the 1930s and 40s, its nightclub was the center of the Central Avenue jazz scene. (Wikimedia)

Another weekend is on the horizon, and the Metro-accessible event we’re most excited about this time around is the Central Avenue Jazz Festival. Now in its 20th season, the event draws thousands of Angelenos to South L.A. each summer to enjoy great music and the unique sense of community that comes from hearing it live.

Hosted this year by Councilman Curren D. Price and the CRCD, the festival takes places this Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Central Avenue between Vernon Avenue and MLK Jr. Boulevard. Over a dozen musical groups are scheduled to perform each day on two outdoor stages as well as inside the newly-renovated, historic Dunbar Hotel.

Admission to the festival is free, and the atmosphere is family-friendly. Along with a diverse musical lineup and plenty of opportunity for dancing, there will be food for sale (from pupusas to BBQ), a health and wellness pavilion, kids corner and work by local artists.

jazz TAP

Enjoy the music and get your hands on one of these limited-edition Central Avenue Jazz Festival TAP cards!

There are a number of ways to arrive at the festival without the hassle of driving, but before we get into that, a Metro Insider Tip: each day, the first 750 guests to take a brief festival survey will receive a commemorative jazz fest TAP card pre-loaded with a Day Pass! Our savviest Source readers and Metro riders already know a Day Pass is valued at $7 and gets you unlimited rides on our buses and trains until 3 a.m. the day after you first activate the pass…

To Go Metro to the Central Avenue Jazz Festival, hop on the Metro Blue Line to Vernon Station. From there, it’s a 20-minute walk to the heart of the event–at Central Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets. For those who want to get some exercise. You can also catch Bus 105 just north of the station on Vernon Avenue. Get off at Central/Vernon and you’re just a five minute walk from the event. Bus 53 and 102 also make stops in the Vernon-Central neighborhood.

Not a fan of jazz? (I’ve heard there are a few of you out there, along with the tiny population of people who don’t like pizza, sugar or the Beatles…) Here are a few other transit-accessible events happening in our fair city this weekend:

  1.  Special Olympics World Games. The Opening Ceremonies kick off the competition Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Coliseum.
  2. Chinatown Summer Nights. Hosted by KCRW and L.A. Chinatown Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight.
  3. Scavenger hunt in Filipino Town!

And finally, some helpful links for getting around via Metro:

Categories: Go Metro

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