No great celebration is complete until music is added to the mix. The Santa Maria Strawberry Festival, now in its 25th year, is celebrating the city’s beloved berry with carnival rides, entertainment, confectionary arts, demonstrations, and, of course, live music at the Santa Maria Fairpark in the middle of town.
The Strawberry Festival has been one of Santa Maria’s main community events for a generation now, and the party keeps getting better. This year, the Fairpark introduced some new attractions to the mix. To name a few: Atlas Robotics will have fun and interactive robots on site, Skip Banks the “Balloon Man” will be sculpting balloons, Lazer Ops will be providing laser tag, and the California Women for Agriculture will be holding blind strawberry tastings.
The festival will begin on Friday, April 27, with the gates opening at 11 a.m. and closing at 10 p.m., though the carnival won’t shut down until midnight. The Center Stage will feature several local ensembles performing for the enjoyment of the festival’s patrons. Dancer’s from Dance Motions and Garcia Danced will take the Center Stage on Friday. Musical acts will include Sadie’s Champagne and Jose Hernandez.
“Jose Hernandez will be on stage performing on Friday,” said Yvonne Biely, events promotion and public relations for the Santa Maria Fairpark. “He is a young man here from Santa Maria, and he has a beautiful voice.”
The Center Stage is reserved for local groups made up of members from the community. Groups performing on Saturday, April 28, include Midnight Sun, Caló,
and After All.
Caló is a Santa Maria-based band that features Victor Valencia on guitar and vocals, his son Manny Valencia on drums, Chris Welch on bass, and Chuck Forssi on keyboards. The group plays a wide array of music. Caló is a Spanish term for what English speakers would call Spanglish, and the band itself represents an amalgamation of English and Spanish styles.
“It’s kind of a roots term, and that’s the kind of band I think we are,” Victor said. “We play Latin rock, Latin jazz, Tex Mex, a little reggae, and, in fact, we’re mixing a little hip hop in there too.”
[image-2] Victor’s son Manny plays hip hop and does some rapping. The group performs several covers of ’70s and ’80s funk and other favorites, and Victor will include a couple of his original songs.
“I’m blending all those flavors of music in my original songs,” he said. “We take it seriously, but we also have fun.”
Victor is a returning Strawberry Festival performer. He’s performed before with a band he had with his other son, the New Vision Band.
“We have fun at the Strawberry Festival,” he said. “You get to see all the old faces and be a part of the community.”
Other than the Center Stage events, the Strawberry Festival will feature a concert in the Manetti Arena on Sunday, April 29, at 2 p.m. The event, sponsored by local radio station La Buena, is by purchase only and boasts some big-name acts in the Hispanic music circuit. Accordion player extraordinaire Noel Torres is headlining the event and will be joined by Banda Machos, Alacranes Musical, and Grupo Escolta. Sunday will also feature performances by local bands Live Wire and Gutter Mafia on the Center Stage.
“We are celebrating our local crop, so our Strawberry Festival is a mini fair,” Biely said, “and it’s a good time for the community to come out and showcase their talents.”
Classical skill
The Lompoc Music Association, dedicated to bringing classical-style art music to the area, presents a benefit concert featuring an instrumental ensemble from the Opera San Luis Obispo program on April 28 at 7:30 p.m. Come to United Church of Christ, 3346 Constellation Road, Vandenberg Village. Cost is $18 ($6 for students).
More info: 735-4777.
Remembering the masters
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society presents “An Evening to Remember,” featuring performances of works by Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Part, and others. Dr. Ann Lucas will lead a pre-concert lecture at the April 28 concert starting at 6:50 p.m. at Grace Baptist Church, Santa Maria. Cost is $30, $25 for active military and seniors, $12 for students. More info: 925-0412, george@santamariaphilharmonic.org, or
santamariaphilharmonic.org.
Music at the Maverick
The Maverick Saloon and KRAZy Country 105.9 presents Jackson Taylor and the Sinners in concert April 19 at 8 p.m. Admission is $10. The saloon offers live entertainment, including country music by Sean Wiggins and Lone Goat in concert April 20 at 8:45 p.m., followed by “Late Night with guest DJs” at 11:30 p.m. Right as Rain performs in concert April 21 at 8:45 p.m. followed by guest DJs at the saloon, 3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez. More info: 686-4785 or mavericksyv@aol.com.
Contact Calendar Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 3, 2012.