Category: Events

  • GlennFest Film Festival Free Screenings Oct 1-7 2017

    GlennFest Film Festival Free Screenings Oct 1-7 2017

    GlennFest, a weeklong film festival that has been hosted in Downey since 2012, will take place from October 1 through October 7 this year, showcasing several films at the Epic Lounge (8239 2nd St. Downey) and Downey Civic Theatre (8435 Firestone Blvd, Downey)

    All Screenings are free. For more information visit www.glennfest.com

    October 1

    -SUNU

    2 p.m., Epic Lounge

    Small, midsize and large Mexican maize producers want to stay free to work the land and cultivate their seeds in a modern world that both needs and despises them.

    – THE JEWISH CARDINAL

    4:30 p.m., Epic Lounge

    Jean-Marie Lustiger, a Polish Jew, maintained his cultural identity after converting to Roman Catholicism and joining the priesthood.

    – ODD BRODSKY

    6:30 p.m., Epic Lounge

    A quirky comedy about a woman quits her steady day job to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an actress in Hollywood.

    October 2

    – HAVANA MOTOR CLUB

    6:30 p.m. Epic Lounge

    Underground drag racers try to organize Cuba’s first official car race since shortly after the revolution ended in 1959.

    October 3

    – SHORT FILMS BY FEMALE FILMMAKERS – presented by Women’s Director Alliance

    7 p.m. Epic Lounge

    Q & A hosted by Kate Rees Davies

    October 4

    – DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR

    6:30 Epic Lounge

    Power-hungry tax collector Don Salluste de Bazan (Louis De Funès) is banished from the Spanish Court and decides to use his valet, Blaze (Yves Montand), to take his revenge. In disguise, Blaze fills Don Salluste’s vacant position and plans to have an affair with the queen (Karin Schubert), which the vengeful ex-collector will then reveal to the king (Alberto de Mendoza). Instead, Blaze and the queen fall in love, and the valet uses his newfound power to help end mistreatment of the poor.

    October 6

    -RAISING ZOEY

    6:30 p.m. Downey Civic Theatre

    A 13-year-old student from Downey fights for the right to self-identify in school.

    – 4 DAYS – presented by Filipino Migrant Center

    8 p.m. Downey Civic Theatre

    Two college friends who slowly realize they mean more to each other than either had initially realized.

    -THE FORBIDDEN SHORE

    9 p.m. Downey Civic Theatre

    Cuban musicians showcase the musical diversity of the country.

    October 7

    – MUNE: GUARDIAN OF THE MOON – Presented by SEIU 721 ADA Caucus

    10 a.m. Downey Civic Theatre

    When the evil ruler of the underworld steals the sun from Sohone, a small lunar faun and a girl made of wax help Sohone get the sun back to restore order to the universe.

    Kids & young adults with special needs screening

    -THE FANTASTIC FAMILY HOTEL – presented by United Netherlands Organization and the Netherlands American Society

    2 p.m. Downey Civic Theatre

    An adaptation of the bestselling book, The Fantastic Family Hotel tells the story of Kos, a thirteen-year-old boy, who is going through the most bizarre period in his life. His mother died a few years ago and his dad is having a heart attack. While Kos’ father is in the hospital, it looks like the hotel he is running will be a big mess. But Kos and his three sisters do not intend to let that happen. After the siblings find out that father is deep in financial problems, the hotel is threatened with closure. The children however come up with a solution: someone has to win the local beauty pageant, with a hefty cash prize attached.

    – SCORE – Presented by Downey Symphonic Society

    4 p.m. Downey Civic Theatre

    This celebratory documentary takes viewers inside the studios and recording sessions of Hollywood’s most influential composers to give a privileged look inside the musical challenges and creative secrecy of a truly international music genre: the film score.

    – I DREAM IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE – Presented by Downey Arts Coalition

    6:30 p.m. Downey Civic Theatre

    A linguist arrives in a small jungle settlement hoping to record a conversation between two elderly men, the last two remaining speakers of the Zikril language. Unfortunately for him, the men are feuding and haven’t spoken to each other in 50 years.

  • Downey Symphony Mi Hacienda Garden Party Sept 24

    Downey Symphony Mi Hacienda Garden Party Sept 24

    It’s not a time for a Siesta, but for a Gran Fiesta

    You Are Cordially Invited to

    Mi Hacienda Garden Party

    Benefitting the
    Downey Symphony Orchestra & Music in the Schools ProgramsCome Join Us for a Gran Fiesta celebrating the
    2017-2018 Concert SeasonSunday, September 24, 2017 3pm – 7pm (cocktail 3-4pm), $75 per personRio Hondo Event Center, 10627 Old River School Road, Downey, CA
      
    Say adios to summer, by spending your afternoon in a wonderful hacienda, full of rich colors, and flavors, while overlooking the beautiful Rio Hondo greens.

    Viva la tradicion! As always our biggest fundraiser of the year will not disappoint. While you sip on vino and/or champagne, and enjoy your delicious dinner, you will be entertained by a Mariachi, A Classical Guitarist, and other surprises. Have fun bidding on fabulosos live and silent auction items, such as dinner with Music Director Sharon Lavery and on–stage orchestra rehearsal, baskets of good wine, Downey theatre tickets, original art works, dinner gift cards, awesome gift baskets, and much, much more… Ay Caramba!

    Have fun and come dressed in bright festive colors celebrating the rich Latino culture.

    RSVP by Sept. 17th, 2017.   For further information, contact Pat Gil at patgil@www.downeyarts.org or text 562-879-3029.

  • OuterRimCon: Presented by the Aerospace Legacy Foundation

    On Saturday, October 7 & Sunday, October 8, 2017 Aerospace Legacy Foundation presents OuteRimCon. Come join us.

    Visit the OuterRimCon Web Site

    Columbia Memorial Space Center
    12400 Columbia Way
    Downey, CA 90242

    Hours: Saturday, 10a – 5p
    Sunday, 10a – 3p

    About Us: Aerospace Legacy Foundation is a community based 501(c)(3) organization from Downey, California; since 1995, dedicated to preserving Southern California’s aerospace history. Our mission is to educate, lecture and preserve space.

    Our purpose for creating this convention is to raise awareness, educate and inform. As well as raising money to help us with our many projects.

    Please help us to create a convention that not only teaches and informs but also encourages young minds as it entertains.

  • 5th Annual Dia de Los Muertos Art Festival Oct 29

    5th Annual Dia de Los Muertos Art Festival Oct 29

    Art, Culture & Tradition

    The Annual Downey Dia de Los Muertos Art Festival is back for its 5th year on Sunday, Oct 29th, 2017, downtown Downey, in and around the Downey Theatre, 8435 Firestone Blvd. The event is free, and so is the parking.

    The festival opens at 11:00 am with introductions from the Mayor and City Council, and continues until 8:00 pm. During the opening, Tonatiuh Danza Azteca will perform a ceremonial Aztec dance, and the festivities commence.

    This event recognizes the cultural significance of Dia de Los Muertos–Day of the Dead-an annual Mexican and Central American custom rooted in both Aztec and Catholic world views, that goes back hundreds of years.  Dia de Los Muertos is when the spirits of the deceased return to earth, for one day, to hang out with the living.

    The Downey Dia de Los Muertos Art Festival is an ever expanding footprint packed with attractions that cover three stages with continuous film, music and ballet folklorico entertainment.  “Urban Art Alley” features “Found Art” (aka “Urban Art”), fine art, sculpture, altar displays, “make n’ take” arts and crafts, sugar-skull decorating, face painting and displays of both traditional altars and more unconventional “car altars.”

    The Downey Arts Coalition has partnered with the festival for each of the past five years, to bring a wide variety of fine art celebrating the Day of the Dead to the lobby of the Downey Theatre. Curated by Carolina Del Toro, artists are featured both from the local community as well as Southern California and beyond.

    The Downey Dia de Los Muertos Art Festival is generally recognized as one of the Southland’s most outstanding Dia de Los Muertos celebrations due, in part, to the indoor/outdoor setting and the quality and variety of entertainment, and also due to the overall presentation that includes color-coordinated booths and decorations, indoor restrooms,  and folklorico dances in the 738 seat theatre.

    The Downey Dia de Los Muertos Art Festival is produced by the City of Downey and the Downey Theatre.  Festival sponsors include La Amapola Market, AppleCare Medical Group, Avenue Press, Downey Federal Credit Union, Downey Nissan, Modelo, and Rose Hills Memorial Park.

  • Green Salon Short Film Festival Saturday August 26

    Green Salon Short Film Festival Saturday August 26

     

    Green Salon Film Fest

     

    The Green Salon Short Film Festival returns Saturday August 26 with new shorts by local filmmakers. The outdoor event begins at 7PM, films begin approximately at 8PM. Host Roy Anthony Shabla welcomes everyone to this free event at his Studio GalleRoy, 11210 Greenstone Ave, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670.

  • Havana Nights Rooftop Concert August 31

    Havana Nights Rooftop Concert August 31

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    August 31, 7pm
    Rooftop Public Parking Structure
    2nd St. and New St., Downey
    La Charanga Cubana will feature at the as the performing artist for the Cuban-themed rooftop concert hosted by the City of Downey. There will be cuban vendors and food, arts and crafts, a beer and wine garden, and a DAC hosted art exhibition. Make sure to bring your own chair! The rooftop opens at 6:30p. Visit the City website for more information.

  • June Arts Newsletter

    June Arts Newsletter

    JUNE ART HAPPENINGS:

    6/16-7/15 Exhibition: Hecho En Cuba @ Stay Gallery
    6/23 Paint & Cookies @ Stay Gallery
    6/24 The Green Salon @ Studio GalleROY
    6/30 Painting with Coffee @ Norwalk Cultural Arts Center
    7/26 Save the date: Downey Symphony Pops in the Park

    Hecho en Cuba, Various Artists

    June 16-July 15
    Stay Gallery
    11140 Downey Ave., Downey

    Local Cuban rtists Nancy Thomas, Rolando Vega Sr., Rolando Vega, Raul Gonzalez, Ricky Ostendi will feature in this month-long exhibition at Stay. Their opening reception takes place on June 16, 7-11pm.
    Save the Date!  The Downey Symphony Orchestra’s annual “Pops in the Park” concert on July 26, 2017 at 7:00pm.  This concert is a free event in Downey’s beautiful Furman Park.  Bring lots of food, drinks and good friends for a spectacular evening under the stars.  Plus, don’t forget to bring the kids… they’ll thank you when they each get the chance to conduct the orchestra at the end of the concert!

    Paint & Cookies

    June 23, 5-7pm
    Stay Gallery
    11140 Downey Ave., Downey
    An opportunity for parents to paint with their children! The cost is $35 and includes 2 seats, art materials, milk & cookies, and instruction. Each additional child is $10 and each additional parent is $15. Purchase tickets online: Paint & Cookies tickets

    The Green Salon, Short Film Festival

    June 24, 7pm
    Studio GalleROY
    11210 Greenstone Ave., Santa Fe Springs
    The June installment of the Green Salon will feature short films by local filmmakers, including Polaris Castillo, Andrew Wahlquist, Dustin Michael Krapes, Andrew Sanz, Roy Anthony Shabla, and David Youel. The featured writer is Jo Scott-Coe and the featured music will be provided by Richard Torres. Also to be expected: dave the cowboy award-winning beer, new girl fashion, open mic, and vegan snacks. The studio is located next to a custom framer, where a 25% discount will be applied to any art brought that night for custom framing.
    Call for Art Proposals: 
    Downey Arts Coalition is a non-profit organization that is here to help you make your creative idea into a reality. Allow DAC to guide you through the process of an arts event, exhibition, open mike, production, performance, screening–you name it. Venue space and small grants are available. Reach out to us with your ideas at
    contact@www.downeyarts.org or 562-419-2787.
    Please note: Proposals will be selected based on the leadership and commitment of the individuals that will produce the event or project. Ideas are easy, making it happen is the hard work.

    Painting with Coffee & Coffee Tasting

    June 30, 7-8:30pm
    Norwalk Cultural Arts Center
    13200 Clarkdale Ave., Norwalk
    Let the coffee and creative juices flow at this unique opportunity to learn about coffee while using it to create art! Coffee, paint, and other supplied will be provided. Event is for adults, ages 18 and over. The cost is $25.

  • Clifton Snider’s new book The Beatle Bump at Poetry Matters Feb 16

    Clifton Snider’s new book The Beatle Bump at Poetry Matters Feb 16

    The Beatle Bump Front Cover LO RESOn February 16, Poetry Matters is excited to welcome back Clifton Snider at Stay Gallery. Snider will read from his new book, The Beatle Bump, published by Downey’s own Los Nietos Press. Poetry Matters welcomes all Beatle fans to hear Snider’s take on the Fab Four. Open mike at 7:30, Clifton and the Beatles at 8.

    A must read for any Beatles fan, Clifton Snider’s book of poems, The Beatle Bump, is an inspired, unique look at the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band of all time. Written in the years after the murder of John Lennon, The Beatle Bump explores the Beatles as an archetypal, in the Jungian sense, world-wide phenomenon. The poems, often irreverent and playful as were the Beatles themselves, are written in a variety of forms—free verse, song lyrics, nonsense verse, a sonnet, and even a couple of fan letters. The Beatle Bump is both a time capsule and a work of lasting art.

    Stay Gallery is located at 11140 Downey Ave, just north of Firestone Blvd. Handicap accessible.

    CliftonSnider

     

  • Artist in Residence: Roy Anthony Shabla

    Roy Anthony Shabla Downey Artist in Residency

    Roy Anthony Shabla – Downey artist, poet, and filmmaker – is the first ever Artist-in-Residence at Stay Gallery from December 5th to January 28th, 2017.  Shabla is a recognized painter and Stay Gallery, near the corner of Downey Avenue and Firestone Boulevard, will be his studio and exhibition space for the next two months.

    Shabla is a late Abstract Expressionist and will be painting eighteen foot canvases – the largest the gallery has shown – as well as assembling junk sculptures and hosting evenings of films on art.  The public is encouraged to visit.

    Roy Anthony Shabla is Director of Collections for Downey Museum of Art and sits on the Advisory Board of Nuvein Foundation for Literature and the Arts.  His films are represented by Los Angeles Center for Digital Art.  He will be the featured artist at LACDA in January.

    Shabla will perform Travels with my Rant, a poetry-and-improvised-music event comparing life in Downey to life in Paris, for Poetry Matters – a Downey Arts Coalition monthly poetry gathering at Stay Gallery – on January 19th.  Local Downey musicians Josue Quiquivix, Andrew Ariza, and Gabriel Armenta will back him.

    Shabla hosts a monthly cultural event, the green salon – a gathering of artists, poets, musicians, and other creative people – which will happen in January at Stay Gallery on Saturday the 28th.  The gathering will also serve as an after-party for Downey Symphony which is performing that night.

    Abstract Expressionism is the important American movement in art which shifted cultural focus from Paris to New York.  It was supported by the CIA during the Cold War as a contrast to the Soviet Union’s Social Realism, demonstrating the artistic freedom of the West to the world.  The most recognizable Abstract Expressionist painters were Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.  Shabla will show films about these artists during his residency.  Follow Stay Gallery on facebook or Instagram for more information.

    Local educators are encouraged to schedule field trips to the gallery to visit and workshop with Shabla.  See staygallery.org to start the process.

    A Community Day when the public is invited to collaborate on a painting with Shabla is planned for Saturday, December 17th, beginning at 11am.  Plan to get your hands dirty!

    As the first Artist-in-Residence at Stay Gallery, Roy Anthony Shabla intends to create large abstract paintings to enthrall the cultural enthusiast and also expose the community to an important American art form.  Come participate in this historic event.

  • Downey Master Chorale 4th Season: Epiphany Jan 8th

    Downey Master Chorale 4th Season: Epiphany Jan 8th

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    Celebrating the culmination of Christmastide, the Downey Master Chorale will present its seasonal concert on January 8th at 4:00 PM in the Cornerstone Christian Worship Center, 9001 Paramount in Downey. Entitled “Epiphany,” it offers old and new music to mark that great event when all the world met the new-born King through the persons of the Magi.

    Several surprises will delight all in the concert. It will feature local composer- arranger Ruth Nix, who will accompany the chorale and will premiere her charming and uplifting work “Little Baby.” Several members of the newly formed Downey Youth Chorale will join the Master Chorale in their own debut performance.

    A meet and greet dessert reception will follow. Bring the whole family. Tickets will make great Christmas gifts.
    For more information email info@downeymasterchorale.org or call (310) 941-3042 or (562) 927-1436. Online at www.downeymasterchorale.org.

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