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An Art Walk Without Limits: Art Around Adams

Don’t kid yourself any longer.  You’ve been looking for a festival to attend during early June, but your standards are high and you’re picky about what the event will offer.  Your checklist is eclectic, but you won’t budge.  Your ideal festival must have art, music, great street food, microbreweries, fire juggling, and of course, performance art wrestling.  Well, your wait is over! Art Around Adams is back for its 13th installment on June 4 and simply put: there isn’t an art festival quite like this one!

 

Started in 2004, Art Around Adams is an annual, two-mile art walk to showcase the businesses of San Diego neighborhoods Normal Heights and Kensington to the public.  A powderkeg of sensory overload, Art Around Adams has something for everyone looking for a good time from art and jewelry made by some of the most exciting artists in Southern California to delicious one-of-a-kind street food including the gourmet slider food truck, The InSliders!

 

Of course, no festival is truly complete without live entertainment and Art Around Adams is no exception.  Come for the art and stay for the entertainment!  Art Around Adams will feature live music as well as live comedy from local stand up comedians, who perform on the “Comedy Trolleys” which bring visitors up and down the festival stretch.  

 

With so much going on, ResortsandLodges.com jumped at an opportunity to speak with Adam Rosen, whose company Exodus Studios runs Art Around Adams.

 

RAL: Tell me a little bit about the event…

AR: Art Around Adams is a free two-mile art and music walk spanning through the University Heights, Normal Heights, and Kensington communities of San Diego, along Adams Avenue from Hamilton St. to Biona Dr. The 2016 edition marks our 13th annual event and we are very proud of it. The event draws an estimated 30,000 attendees throughout the day over it's duration.  

 

RAL: What is the typical demographic makeup of the event?

AR: Our demographic ranges quite a bit, with the majority ranging in age from 25-45, attracting families, couples, and individuals just looking to discover something new and have a good time.  The event has many family-friendly attractions and different activities for everyone.  

 

RAL: What makes this event unique?

AR: The event is unique as it's not your typical art walk or street fair.  We utilize the businesses, parking lots, and empty spaces on Adams Avenue as "Impromptu" galleries and performance spaces for the day, bringing our visitors inside the culture and charm of Adams Avenue.  Art and music rolls out into the streets without getting a congestion of unrelated "vendor village" type street vendors.  The whole focus is to bring culture and the arts to the people, and have the people discover the eclectic Adams Avenue community through their interest in the arts.

  

RAL: Take me through a day at the event...what can I expect as an attendee?

AR: We have a ton of stuff going on! Upon planning your day make sure to leave ample time to find parking. Don't worry about where you park along or around the two-mile stretch of Adams Avenue as we have two completely free "Comedy Trolleys" to bring you up and down the avenue.  Both trolleys feature live entertainment from an assortment of comedians all day long.  

 

We have nearly 100 different "Impromptu" galleries / performance spaces and they are all clearly marked with signage so it is easy to decipher which locations are part of the scheduled event.  In addition to all the artists we have showing, we also have over 13 stages with live music, and performance art.  There are many other things to do as well, including but not limited to:

  • Circus performances by Circus Mafia

  • Intergalactic Performance Art Wrestling by Super Awesome Showdown

  • A 17-foot walking, talking Electric Robot Giraffe

  • A Mural Unveiling by the Veteran's Mural Project

  • A film screening of the Disney / Pixar film "Inside Out"

  • Interactive Art Project titled "Eat it Huffman", where attendees can can paint murals with the community on the face of a residential home.

 

If you get hungry at the event don't worry, we have over 25 participating locations where you can get food and drink. It's a very eclectic and fun environment and you can win free stuff too!  Twenty-three of our participating businesses are part of our "Punch Card" program (which is clearly marked in our program and on those businesses' "day-of" signage).  Get your program punched at all 23 locations across the avenue and bring your program to our info booth (3491 Adams Avenue) to earn free gift cards and prizes.

 

RAL: What can an attendee expect to find for local lodging? Our travelers are a segment of the market that seek out unique, mom & pop accommodations...is this what they will find when they come to your event?

AR: As most people know, San Diego is a vacation destination and has plenty of lodging options ranging from eclectic mom-and-pop B&B’s all the way up to unique high end hotels.   One of the specific locations that many of our out of towners choose to stay at due its unique charm, class, and ease of access to the event is the Lafayette Hotel.

 

RAL: What does this event mean to the community?

AR: The community loves the event and San Diego as a whole has come to embrace it.  You'll notice our slogan on our website and marketing materials is "Craft / Music / Commerce", this is because we use the "Craft" (arts) and "Music" to bring people into our eclectic, mostly mom-and-pop owned participating businesses.  Since there are minimal vendors at the event and most of the action takes place within the participating locations, it has a direct positive effect on the local economy and drives it in an upward direction.

 

RAL: Why should people come to your event?

AR: Bottom line is you won't see this much eclectic variety of performance, art, food, and activities at a single event.  If you're looking to have fun and see / hear some awesome talent with a high degree of range and character, this is the event for you....

 

To learn more about Art Around Adams, be sure to visit their website!