If you’ve ever attended a festival at Downtown’s Shoreline Aquatic Park, Marina Green or Rainbow Lagoon Park, you’re probably familiar with the magic that happens around dusk, when the Villa Riviera, International Tower and other local landmarks are lighting up, the setting sun is glowing on the sea and the boats, and whatever music you’re listening to becomes some of the best you’ve ever heard!
Parks and other Downtown venues will be hosting quite an array of festivals during the summer season (June 20 – August 30), so check out our list, pick your favorites, and experience a full summer of Downtown festival magic!
MUSIC FESTIVALS
Cali Vibes
Photo courtesy of Cali Vibes Fest
Cali Vibes, this Saturday and Sunday, June 7 and 8 at Marina Green Park, is guaranteed to be one of the feel-good events of the entire year! Kid Cudi, Ludacris, Slightly Stoopid, Cypress Hill, Steel Pulse, and many more fantastic acts will keep the good vibes flowing all weekend. A truly impressive lineup of food vendors will help you tame your munchies and keep you smiling! To see the complete artist lineup and all ticket options – including the ultra-dreamy Beach Club – click here!
Love Long Beach Festival
Photo courtesy of Love Long Beach Festival
All you need is love! There will be plenty of it to go around at the 10th Anniversary edition of the Love Long Beach Festival, Saturday and Sunday July 19 and 20 at Shoreline Aquatic Park. Dance, do beachfront yoga, and have a meal with your family as beautiful music energy flows from three stages. There will be live art, immersive workshops, and an abundance of friendly vibes! Get your tickets here.
Day Trip Festival
Photo courtesy of Day Trip Festival
Tickets are going fast for this two-day house music festival with an absolutely STACKED lineup! The Day Trip Festival, Saturday and Sunday June 21 and 22 across the water at the Queen Mary Waterfront, features international house sensations such as Armand Van Helden, Tiesto, Classmatic, and Wax Motif, who will be broadcasting their beats from two spectacularly-lit stages. To get your tickets and to get an audio sampling of some of the acts, click here!
Vans Warped Tour
Photo courtesy of Vans Warped Tour
Celebrate the 30th Anniversary Edition of the Vans Warped Tour at Marina Green Park and the Long Beach Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday, July 26 and 27! Dozens of punk rock, alternative, pop punk, and emo bands – including 311, Body Count (rapper Ice-T’s heavy rock band), and The Vandals – will take the energy where only this prestigious skater fest can go! Click here to get the full picture of this massive event and to get your tickets.
Long Beach Jazz Festival
Photo Courtesy of Long Beach Jazz Festival
Get your tickets now for the 36th Annual Long Beach Jazz Festival, and enjoy two full days (Saturday and Sunday, August 9 and 10) of excellent music in beautiful Marina Green Park! This year’s schedule will be announced soon; Previous headliners include Maxi Priest, Sergio Mendes, Marcus Miller, and Poncho Sanchez, among many, many other greats from the worlds of Jazz, Latin, and R & B. Click here for lineup updates and to get your tickets.
New Blues Festival
Photo courtesy of New Blues Festival
The New Blues Festival, a weekend-long celebration of the blues, is in its “finishing touches” stage as acts and set times are finalized. It’s happening Friday through Sunday, August 22 – 24 at Shoreline Aquatic Park. Click here as the festival approaches to get lineup and ticket info.
FOOD & DRINK FESTS
Taste of Downtown: Pine & Promenade and Waterfront
Taste of Downtown: Pine & Promenade 2024
Have an amazing culinary experience in the heart of Downtown! The Taste of Downtown: Pine & Promenade edition is set for Wednesday and Thursday, June 11 and 12 from 5 to 9 PM and will feature the kind of fabulous food that has made this event a Downtown mainstay for over 15 years. Arrive hungry, have fun, and leave satisfied. To get your tickets, click here.
L.A. Independent Beer Fest
Photo courtesy of L.A. Independent Beer Fest
Welcome the start of summer and beat the heat with an ice-cold beer or three at the L.A. Independent Beer Fest, Saturday June 14 from 1 to 5 PM (noon to 5 PM for VIPs!) at Shoreline Aquatic Park. Seventy-five independent breweries will help you celebrate during this kickoff event for the Sixteenth Annual L.A. Beer Week. Admission includes a keepsake glass and unlimited tastings from the aforementioned breweries! To see the list of brewers and to get your tickets, click here.
Taste of Downtown/KCRW Summer Nights: Bevs, Bites, & Beats
Taste of Downtown Waterfront 2024
The glow and flash of the Pike Outlets ferris wheel will provide the perfect backdrop for the first-ever Taste of Downtown: Bevs, Bites, & Beats! Roam the Downtown Waterfront sampling small bites from local culinary wizards (Taste Tickets will be available for purchase onsite), then settle in for electrifying sets from DJ Nobody (6 to 8 PM) and KCRW’s DJ Jeremy Sole. Entry is FREE! RSVP with KCRW here to learn about some fun perks.
UNIQUE & CULTURAL EXPERIENCES
Long Beach Juneteenth Celebration
Photo courtesy of The Long Beach Juneteenth Celebration
Join your friends for a full day of great energy and activities at the Long Beach Juneteenth Celebration, happening Saturday June 14 from 10:30 AM to 8 PM at Rainbow Lagoon Park. You’ll be immersing yourself in the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Partake in a full day of great food, drink, dance, crafts, and culture! Tickets are going fast: Get yours here.
ALL TOYOTAFEST
Photo courtesy of ALL TOYOTAFEST
Join with hundreds of members of the Toyota family as they show off their sporty rides at the 29th Annual ALL TOYOTAFEST, Saturday June 28 from 9 AM to 3 PM at Marina Green Park! It’s an epic family reunion celebrating everything Toyota – from vintage classics to the latest models. Buy your tickets here and get a $5 discount!
Dia de San Juan Festival
Photo courtesy of Dia de San Juan Festival
The 30th Anniversary edition of the Dia de San Juan Festival is on for Sunday, June 29 from 10 AM to 7 PM at Rainbow Lagoon Park! Salsa, Musica Tropical – whatever you like to call it, you’ll be grooving to it all day at this exciting, family-friendly celebration. Click here to see the dynamite music lineup and to get your tickets.
Long Beach Walls & Art Renzei International Art Festival
Photo courtesy of Long Beach Walls: Ledania+SakoAsko mural; Photo by Brandon Shigeta
The entire city becomes an open-air art gallery once again during the Long Beach Walls & Art Renzei International Art Festival, which takes place July 20 – 26 throughout Long Beach — including Downtown, of course. International and local artists will add to the rich collection of murals that have beautified the city since the first Long Beach Walls (originally Pow!Wow! Long Beach) in 2015. Click here to see a dazzling display of past murals and learn more about this ambitious, internationally-recognized yearly art event.
DTLB Art + Design Walk
DTLB Art + Design Walk
Experience the creative vibrations of Downtown during the DTLB Art + Design Walk! The next one happens Saturday, July 26 from 2 to 7 PM. There will be art activations throughout the East Village, Pine Avenue, and The Promenade. This one’s happening the same day as the Vans Warped Tour and Long Beach Walls, so expect some skate-centric and mural-centric activations! More details to follow in our next Newsletter.
DTLB Design District x LA Design Festival presents “Design Futurism”
Photo courtesy of LA Design Festival
The DTLB Design District is proud to be a featured site in this year’s LA Design Festival! Studio One Eleven at 245 E 3rd St. will be the host of “Design Futurism,” an amazing four days (Thursday through Sunday, June 26 – 29) of events, exhibits, & panels which spotlight the future of design. Make sure to click the link above for details! There’s A LOT going on.
Midsummer Scream
The Midsummer Scream Halloween & Horror Convention is baack! Get your scary on and be at the Long Beach Convention Center Friday through Sunday, August 15 – 17 for the Hall of Shadows, the Scream Room, the Black Cat Lounge, and MANY more terrifying attractions. This year’s list of special guests includes legendary film director/composer John Carpenter! The event will definitely sell out: Click here to purchase your passes in advance.
Long Beach Pet Fair
Photo courtesy of the Long Beach Pet Fair
Plans are being finalized for the Long Beach Pet Fair, Saturday August 30 from 9 AM to 6 PM at Marina Green Park. Tell your favorite pet to stand (or sit) by, and click the link above for fun details as the event approaches!