POSTPONED for Now
21 May
BloomfestLA will be postponed this summer, according to a LARABA board report at the April 2013 meeting. The decision was made two months after event producers Edgar Varela and Melissa Richardson Banks shared that they were unable to produce the event this year due to “an increase in projects and clients for our own successful full-time businesses, the impact of local construction on the area’s available parking for a large-scale event, and escalating costs of presenting a free community festival on the streets of Los Angeles.”
LARABA President Joseph Pitruzzelli and Councilmember Jan Perry with BloomfestLA producers Melissa Richardson Banks and Edgar Varela (photo by Rush Varela, 2011)
LARABA’s plans include rescheduling BloomfestLA to the fall (October 16 was mentioned during LARABA’s May 2013 board meeting) and changing the format of the large community festival into a series of decentralized music events hosted by local businesses. For updates on BloomfestLA, visit LARABA’s website. To keep posted on other DTLA events produced by Varela and Richardson Banks, follow @DTLAevents on Twitter or sign up for the Downtown Muse mailing list HERE.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM EVENT PRODUCERS: As Arts District stakeholders, one of our shared professional and personal achievements includes proudly producing the 2011 and 2012 BloomfestLA. We are unable to produce this amazing community event again in 2013 for a variety of reasons, including an increase in projects and clients for our own successful full-time businesses, the impact of local construction on the area’s available parking for a large-scale event, and escalating costs of presenting a free community festival on the streets of Los Angeles. For the past two years, we were in a position to donate our expertise and services that resulted in BloomfestLA becoming such a resounding success. Unfortunately, with heavy hearts, we came to realize that it was not the case for 2013. Happily, we know that our legacy to the community is a solid foundation on which others in the community, including LARABA, can carry forward henceforth this year and in the future.
We are so very grateful to the Arts District community, local business owners, artists, residents, volunteers, vendors, performers, sponsors, event staff and suppliers, media representatives, and countless others for supporting our work to help showcase our beloved neighborhood. Most important, we thank the LARABA board for allowing us to join them for the past two years in making a difference in our neighborhood and for transforming what was formerly a small neighborhood party to a widely anticipated citywide community event. We look forward to helping out in the future as we are able and to perhaps identify other ways in which we might work together to benefit residents and businesses in the Arts District. We also encourage those who wish to stay in touch with us as we launch other local events and projects that benefit the community to sign up for our mailing list by clicking HERE. To keep posted on future DTLA events produced by Varela and Richardson Banks, follow @DTLAevents on Twitter.
~ Edgar Varela and Melissa Richardson Banks
