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LOS ANGELES, CA— When LA Carnival launched on Crenshaw Boulevard last year, the seeds were planted to grow an economic development vehicle using the carnival parade as the mechanism for community engagement. One hundred drums led an inaugural procession with an exuberant, multicultural starlight jamboree into Leimert Park Village. Produced by Marikel Productions in association with Mandrill World Music, and sponsored by International Eye LA, this year the festivities continue to explode with “LA Carnival on the Shaw,” June 30, 2024, starting at 4:00 p.m. As a historic expression of freedom, the carnival provides a fitting culmination of Juneteenth celebrations and a closing exclamation to Caribbean American Heritage Month. “LA Carnival on the Shaw” is designed to use arts and entertainment to “engage, activate and revitalize” businesses on the Crenshaw Strip. The Crenshaw Strip runs parallel to the Metro K-Line between Obama Boulevard and Leimert Park, creating a vibrant business and cultural oasis.
“LA Carnival on the Shaw” kicks off with exquisite masquerades, colorful revelers, jubilant drummers, boisterous music trucks and spectacularly lit vehicles and bicycles imbuing merriment at the official LA Carnival Assembly Hub on Obama Blvd., east and west of Crenshaw. The party then transforms into the carnival procession as participants begin traveling toward Leimert Park at 6:00 p.m. The procession will flow from Obama and Crenshaw Blvd. to Vernon and Leimert Blvd, bringing an exuberant display of lights, dancing, and celebration into Leimert Park Village to augment the finale of the Ancestor Mask Festival and Leimert Park Art Walk. Leimert Park Village is located at 4395 Leimert Blvd. Festivities will conclude at 10:00 p.m.
LA Carnival continues to be inclusive of the diversity of Angelenos across our great city. Immigrants from across the globe have made Los Angeles a culturally complex and creatively rich region. Artists, art consumers and practitioners have contributed to California’s designation as the creative capital of the nation and LA Carnival, held during Caribbean American Heritage Month, embodies this! The ingenuity, imagination and innovation that will be on display during the Carnival will be mind boggling and inspirational!” notes LA Carnival founder, Marie Kellier.
Migrating from its Hollywood beginning in 1998 to its Westchester home of over 17 years, founder Marie Kellier, of MARIKEL Productions, has nurtured LA Carnival as an innovator, trendsetter, and pioneer. At its root, LA Carnival is part of the worldwide chain of Caribbean carnivals imported into global communities by Caribbean immigrants. It is now the longest running Caribbean-based carnival in Southern California and served as a training
Having weathered many storms, LA Carnival now comes home to its true community, the iconic Crenshaw Boulevard, and historic Leimert Park Village. Embracing a powerful multicultural theme, Kellier has evolved LA Carnival into an economic initiative that will establish ‘The Crenshaw Strip’ as a global tourism destination in anticipation of the 2028 Olympics. Over the next few years of growing “LA Carnival on the Shaw,” artists, business owners and independent producers will be invited to host “Activity Hubs” and “Carnival Vibe Spots” along Crenshaw Blvd. Kellier’s plan is to engage artists to work with business owners, extending the project into a monthly creativity-based series of activities with multidisciplinary arts and entertainment that invigorate the businesses in the area.
All Angelenos across the city and county of Los Angeles and beyond are invited to help build this vision by being part of “LA Carnival on the Shaw” and experience the diversity of cultures that is the fabric of Los Angeles and the basis for its designation as the creative capital of the nation. For sponsorship, special events and advertising information contact the LA Carnival corporate offices at (213) 761.4475 or (213) 656.3663 or lacarnivalarts@gmail.com.
For more details and information about attending the LA Carnival, go to losangelescarnival.com or email the Los Angeles Carnival’s production office at lacarnivalarts@gmail.com.
