Free Music and Arts Festival: Venice Spring Fling 4

Back for a fourth year of fun, Venice Spring Fling music and arts festival returns to the beach to rock the heart of Venice with a free, full day of art, music, and dance on Saturday, May 31, 2014, from 11 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. at Windward Plaza (1 Windward Avenue, between the boardwalk and the bike trail). The festival features musical entertainment, an art show, food trucks, Dr. Bronner'sMagic Foam Experience, and more. The festival is free and open to the public. An after-show immediately follows at Danny's Venice.

This year's festival features musicians aged 17 to 73! Samba Da Mudança dance and drum troupe leads a samba parade down Ocean Front Walk to kick off the festivities at 11 a.m., and a non-stop day of music follows on the Ocean Stage featuring a range of local and international talent, including:Allie Kay Band (high school-age female rocker); Roots Collective (multi-genre world beat); Jelly of the Month Club (children's band founded by members of Sublime and Zen Robbi); Missus Jones(Amy Winehouse tribute); Rated X (tribute to the punk band X); Meet Me at the Pub (local ska/surf-punk favorites); and Barry "The Fish" Melton (of Country Joe and The Fish) with an all-star band that features Lowell Levinger (AKA "Banana") from The Youngbloods, David and Linda LaFlammefrom It's a Beautiful Day, bassist Tony Saunders (Merl Saunders and the Rainforest Band), Grammy-winning drummer and producer Andy Kravitz, and saxophonist Brad Jenkins (Lester Chambers Band). The show closes with Venice's finest experimental band, the Venice Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Tovi Khali (also featuring guitar virtuoso Michael Jost and Milo Gonzalez of Insects Vs. Robots). Musical sets will be interspersed with dance performances by Samba Da Mudança, Ya Harissa Bellydance Theater, and ATS (American Tribal Style) Bellydance and Drums. Visit http://www.venicespringfling.com for details on VSF4 performers.

Visual artists showing works include: art by sky, Audrey McNamara, Sebastian Carrillo, Brandy Orvis, Kimberly Eaton, Alex Avila, Ra Ra SuperStar, and more TBA. Venice author Steve Bevilacqua will be signing copies of his recent book, Kafka at the Beach.

An after party will be hosted by Danny's Venice (23 Windward Avenue, Venice, CA 90291) from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m., featuring the Venice Philharmonic Orchestra and many special guests.