Mellow Crowd Savors Bowlful of Blues in Ojai

The sounds of whining harmonicas and wailing alto saxophones pervaded the air of downtown Ojai on Saturday afternoon as blues lovers lunched and lounged on blankets under the oak trees in Libbey Park at the city’s eighth annual blues festival.

“Welcome to paradise,” a musician’s voice boomed from the stage.

The Bowlful of Blues & Jazzin’ the Park brought 1,500 area residents and music fans from other parts of the state to picnic in a city many Southern Californians know as a cultural haven.

“Ojai’s an artists and writers colony, but Bowlful of Blues is a countywide event,” said Michael Kaufer, the festival’s producer.

Locally and nationally known bands, featuring music styles developed in places such as New Orleans, Mississippi and Chicago, played to a sellout crowd Saturday, and about 75% of today’s tickets have been sold, festival organizers said. Sunday’s show will feature gospel and jazz artists, topped off with a 3 p.m. New Orleans-style street parade through downtown.

“It’s always a kick-back crowd,” said Doug Precourt of Moorpark. “Rhythm and blues is good for here. It’s an aging crowd, an ex-hippie-type city. I don’t think New Kids on the Block would do really well in this city.”

Part of the festival’s appeal, Precourt and his friends agreed, is the price.

“Where else are you going see all these top-name blues players for $17?” asked Bob Swain of Santa Maria, attending his fifth Ojai concert. Swain noted that a similar jazz show held each June at the Hollywood Bowl costs almost twice that amount. And in Ojai, his friends agreed, listeners can rest on blankets with coolers full of chicken and cheese, rather than sit on hard benches.

One Ventura foursome relaxed around a Scrabble board and packs of crackers. Others enjoyed the shaded areas with bottles of wine or six-packs, despite a city ordinance against drinking in the park.

“It’s a good, mellow crew,” said Sgt. Rod Thompson of the Ojai branch of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Thompson and one other officer patrolled outside the bowl area Saturday but said they rarely had to go inside.

Festival organizers did not search the coolers of people entering the park, and the 50 volunteers helping to patrol the area concentrated mostly on ensuring that no one slipped in for free and that garbage was separated for recycling, said Wayne Parish, who headed volunteer security.

“People might have a glass of wine with their picnic, but it’s not a drinking event,” said Kaufer, a blues booking agent.

The festival, which began in 1983 as a fund-raising effort for the city’s art center, has grown into a two-day event. Since 1986, profits from the festival have helped Illusions, a nonprofit community theater group, produce its shows.

“It’s important to have an opportunity to celebrate our roots,” Kaufer said of the music. “These are our roots.”

Added eight-year fair-goer and Ojai resident Luke Hall: “Blues cuts across all socioeconomic and cultural categories.”