With the Live Oak Music Festival passing by, it might seem that people in Santa Barbara County looking to enjoy an outdoor music festival will have to take a road trip, but the Lompoc Valley Flower Festival has proved that notion wrong. The Flower Festival is a five-day event that, if it weren’t for the multitude of attractions and activities, you would think is a summer outdoor music festival.
“We have nonstop musical entertainment from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. almost every day, except Sunday which is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.” said Cecilia Walker, office manager of the Lompoc Valley Festival Association, “We have professional sound techs and professional lighting coming in, so it is very well done.”
The Flower Festival follows the fun and familiar fair format featuring carnival rides, a parade, arts and crafts booths, food booths, commercial booths, and a beer and wine garden. The festival was first celebrated 60 years ago to the year in celebration of the flower harvest in Lompoc.
“It’s kind of historic; Burpee seeds used to have their headquarters here,” Walker said. “It’s no longer the case, but in the historic tradition, we still call it the Flower Festival.”
The festival’s title this year is “60 Years of California Dreaming,” and it will be taking place at its usual location, the large and beautiful Ryon Memorial Park located at the corner of West Ocean Avenue and South O Street in Lompoc.
Wednesday, June 20, is “Community Appreciation Day,” which features free admission—admission being $3 on all the subsequent days of the festival. The festivities kick off at noon with a welcome address followed by a performance by members of The Voice Studio. Dan Petry’s Karaoke Showcase is from 1:30 to 3 p.m. followed by the acoustic pop music of Kailey and Phoenix. More dance performances by the Boscutti Ballet Theatre and Just Dance Lompoc are scheduled before the opening ceremony from 6 to 6:15. The youthful funk and jazz band Soulmates performs the beginning of the evening with local group Hard Times playing rock and roll and oldies.
“Hard Times is headed by Ben Contreras Jr. He has been in the musical community out here in Lompoc for a while,” Walker said. “We have a mixture of local bands from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and we have some bigger name bands coming in.”
On Thursday, June 21, the musical lineup starts with the Amazing Stupifyers performing from noon to 2 p.m. The Amazing Stupifyers actually took third place in a battle of the bands competition that was held at a Lompoc festival earlier in the year. Time Furnace performs classic rock music from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., followed by Livewire performing rock and roll with a funk flair from 5 to 7. The Fossils perform alternative rock music to close out the night from 8 to 10 p.m.
Friday, June 22, is titled “Country Shout-Out” day featuring a line up of artists with twang. Ian Franklin and Infinite Frequency will be performing original songs with a distinct Americana feel to them from noon to 2 p.m., followed by Kacey Cubero who performs country music from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. The seasoned, Santa Ynez-based country ensemble the Agin Brothers performs from 5 to 7 p.m. with Nashville based recording artist Glenn Templeton closing out the night from 8 to 10 p.m.
“Glenn Templeton is an up and coming country music star; he has a song climbing the country charts,” Walker said, “The Agin Brothers do a combination of country and what I call ‘Chuckwagon’ music; they’re very professional and have opened for many groups in the past, including Johnny Cash.”
Saturday, June 23, kicks off with the Flower Festival Parade at 10 a.m. But not long after the parade comes to an end, second place winner of the Battle of the Bands competition Candy Jam will perform from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Heartbeat City performs “party music” from 2 to 4 p.m followed by the first place Battle of the Bands winner Tinnitus from 5 to 7 p.m. The night will be closed out by a Los Angeles-based Steely Dan tribute band called Pretzel Logic.
And finally, on Sunday, June 24, which is titled “Latino Day,” there will be entertainment by Christian Ministries, Garcia’s Dance Studio, and the Lompoc School of Dance for the first part of the day. At 1:15 p.m. Latin Connection will take the stage and perform, followed by the festival-closing performance by Savor, a Santana tribute band well versed in Latin and Spanish rock and roll.
“We try and do our best to give local musicians and entertainers a chance because this is a community event,” said Flower Festival board member Richard Moody. “We look for input from the community because it’s the people that make the event.”
Peace, love, and dirt
The Live Oak Music Festival by KCBX Central Coast Public Radio features three days of music. This year features headliners the Indigo Girls, Rebirth Brass Band, Crolyn Wonderland, John Doe, James McMurtry, Oscar Hernandez, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Quinn DeVeaux and the Blue Beat Review, and many others June 15 through 17 at Live Oak Camp, Santa Ynez. More info, including a full list of performers, can be found at 781-3030 or liveoakfest.org.
Make it pop
The Lompoc Pops Orchestra performs the last concert of the season featuring performances of favorite popular orchestral numbers June 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 925 North F St., Lompoc. Cost is $15, $5 for full-time students. More info: connieatthepops@aol.com or 735-6463.
Maverick music
The Maverick Saloon offers live entertainment, including country music by Von Cotton June 15 at 8:45 p.m., followed by “Late Night with guest DJs” at 11:30 p.m. “Concert on the Deck” with Richard Diaz is June 16 at 3 p.m. Right as Rain performs country and rock music June 16 at 8:45 a.m. 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 Jun 14-21, 2012.
