Art hits the streets of Burbank
Music and artwork filled a stretch of downtown Saturday as hundreds of people hit the streets for a weekend-long celebration of the arts.
A four-block stretch of San Fernando Road, between Olive Avenue and Magnolia Boulevard, was blocked off to through traffic to make way for dozens of booths, featuring paintings, wood carvings, jewelry and other pieces of artwork for sale by artisans from across the state.
The festival also featured a long line-up of performances by local bands and dance groups, including the Burbank High jazz band, Burbank High School dance team and the John Burroughs High improv troupe.
Beyond offering exposure to the arts, Burbank resident Karen Almeida said the festival also helps to bring the community together.
“The more we do things like this, the more you get people to communicate with each other,” she said. “And the more you get the community together, the stronger the community.”
The arts festival was part of a larger two-day event dubbed “Burbank Arts Alive!” which organizers said was meant to showcase the community’s creative spirit.
Sponsored by the Downtown Burbank Partnership and the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission, the celebration featured performances, concerts, exhibitions, open houses, special appearances and workshops throughout the city.
“Our goal with Burbank Arts Alive! is to create a medium that showcases the diversity of arts in Burbank,” Mayor Anja Reinke said in a statement.
Interspersed between the arts wares were chalk artists hard at work on temporary masterpieces, among other displays.
Burbank resident Marlene Sheffield sat with her two great-grandsons observing sand sculptor Dave Henderson craft a towering sand castle.
“This is our second time back here,” she said. “They’re fascinated.”
Sun Valley resident Evelyne Fleury-Milfort said she has made it a point to attend the annual festival in recent years and usually always comes home with a purchase.
“I’m trying to resist today,” she said, while looking at a sampling of stained glass boxes. “There are so many beautiful things.”
The arts festival will also run today from 10a.m. to 5 p.m. For information visit downtown-burbank.org/events.php.