Lake View Terrace : 40,000 Attend LAPD Festival to Aid Youth

Josie Batista doesn’t mind getting wet to save a teen-ager’s life.

Ominous skies and forecasts of showers couldn’t keep her away from a Latino music festival Sunday to raise money for a Los Angeles Police Department program to keep youths out of gangs.

“What’s a few drops of rain?” the San Fernando resident said.

Batista was among an estimated 40,000 people gathered at Hansen Dam Recreation Area in Lake View Terrace for an afternoon of music that included Latino music stars such as Estrellas de Amor, Carla de Leon, Manuel Mijares and Los Fugitivos.

As it turned out, there was little rain, and lots of fun.

The annual event is the main fund-raiser for the San Fernando Valley division of the LAPD’s Jeopardy program, which works to change the attitudes and behavior of preteens.

Last year, the event netted $60,000, which was divided among five San Fernando Valley Jeopardy programs, said LAPD Cmdr. Tim McBride.

Jeopardy, launched in 1990 at the LAPD’s Foothill Division, identifies at-risk youngsters and works with their parents and school officials to turn them around, LAPD officials said.

The program also provides young people with career counseling and job placement, and recreation such as hockey and dance.

LAPD officials said the annual music festival is becoming a popular annual event in the Latino community.

“Everybody wants to help,” said Elizabeth Palacios of Los Angeles, who was working at a hot-dog stand. “We are all tired of the guns and gangs and things like that.”

The festival, on the sprawling, tree-shaded grounds surrounding Hansen Dam, was a safe outing, and a respite for families who live in fear in gang-plagued neighborhoods, many said.

“This is good, sane entertainment for the young people,” said Jose Guadalupe Venegas of San Fernando. “Here, nobody bothers you; the kids here, they behave themselves.”

LAPD officials said they considered the event a success, even though the threat of rain apparently kept many people home.

“This is always a fun event, but I think it’s also a statement of support for the department’s efforts at gang prevention,” McBride said.