Downtown Burbank Arts Festival returns to San Fernando Boulevard this weekend
More than 100 art exhibitors, local artists and professional animators will congregate on San Fernando Boulevard this weekend for the annual Downtown Burbank Arts Festival.
San Fernando will be closed to traffic between Magnolia Boulevard and Angeleno Avenue to make room for paintings, sculptures and other pieces so event-goers can stroll the street, interact with artists and talk about their creations.
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The free event was started less than a decade ago as a way to get more people to visit the downtown area and support local businesses, said Mary Hamzoian, economic development manager for the city.
“It’s a very fun and cool event,” she said. “It brings in a few thousand people each day.”
The art pieces are not just limited to sculptures, sidewalk chalk art and paintings; there will also be photographers, home jewelers and woodworkers displaying their work.
A component that has been featured at the festival the past three years is a block dedicated to Burbank-based Creative Talent Network, which is bringing about 65 of its members who have worked on notable projects such as “Treasure Planet,” “The Lion King,” “The Simpsons” and “Enchanted” and give them a chance to showcase their personal artwork and animation.
“It is an opportunity for the artist to meet up with the general public directly,” said Tina Price, who worked for Disney for 23 years and founded the Creative Talent Network.
“Animators typically are not seen outdoors,” she said. “They are huddled in cubicles or offices, which are typically dark, so it’s a nice opportunity for them to get out and into the sun and showcase their independent work.”
Price added that many student artists flock to the animation area of the festival to get a chance to talk with animators and receive feedback on their work.
The Creative Talent Network will also host a “Doodle Run,” where people will have to go to different artists, ask for a small drawing from them and return with a completed sheet for a chance to win various prizes. Participants will also be able to take the doodles home.
Price, who has been in the animation industry for over 30 years, said that Burbank “is the animation capital of the world. There [are] more animation studios in a 10-mile radius than anywhere else in the world.”
She added, “To be a member of that community and to be able to connect with the city of Burbank in that way is great. Burbank is really an epicenter for the best animators in the world.”
The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
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