It’s been a long, long time since Culver City hosted a full scale in-person gathering, inviting the whole community to join together for a day in the sunshine. The Art Walk and Roll Festival ended the pandemic pause, and transported the east side of town into a day of car-free fun. It was clearly a rebirth of community gatherings, and looking to be the first of many.
Organizer Ken Mand noted the enthusiastic participation of the crowd. “All the Festival organizers with the Arts District BID and Arts District Residents Association were very pleased with the strong turnout of smiling faces. It has been a tough 18 months for our community, and we were thrilled with the wonderful energy all of Culver City shared on Saturday.”
The transportation focus of the fest saw the new electric Culver CityBus available for people to tour, plenty of bikes, both ridden and for sale, and a turquoise Vespa available to win. Music was everywhere, from the main stage offering rock and pop next to the beer garden, down to the drum circles at the end of the street. Art was on offer, from paintings to jewelry to custom made guitars. Vendor booths were busy, and all the eateries on the street were crowded.
It was a very safe crowd as well; while Culver City has a vaccination rate of more than 90% – one of the very few cities in the nation to achieve those numbers – almost everyone was masked, and the elbow bump was a common form of greeting.
“We thank the City of Culver City, our Mayor and Council Members, our local business sponsors, as well as the numerous Culver City community groups who all pitched in to make this year’s Art Walk and Roll Festival a success,” Mand offered with gratitude. “Bringing our community together is really what this event is all about.”
Judith Martin-Straw
Photo credit – Andre Doumitt
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