A feast in the east
East Bakersfield Festival packed with fun for all ages
It’s possible that the No. 1 fans of the East Bakersfield Festival are the organizers themselves. That’s not to say the event, which returns Saturday to Jefferson Park, doesn’t have a lot of community support. It’s simply that the folks behind bringing it to the neighborhood are just that excited.
“Basically we’re trying to activate the park in a lot of ways,” said Andrae Gonzales, Ward 2 city councilman and executive director of Children First, which puts on the event.
“We really want to encourage people to bring lawn chairs and umbrellas and have a family day at the park.”
And what a day it will be. Along with the park’s existing amenities, the festival will include a kids zone, featuring a basketball clinic with Dignity Health Sports Complex trainers, kids zone with free activities including bounce houses and other inflatables, art displays by local creatives as well as vendors with handmade goods, food vendors, resource fair, and live music and dance performances.
Jefferson’s spray park will even open a week early (the rest in the city open Memorial Day weekend) for children to play on a day forecast to reach 90.
“For people who want to get as much packed in a day, this is everything,” said Natasha Felkins, part of the organizing team. “All the opportunities are right here at Jefferson Park.”
With a focus on being a “family-fun event,” Felkins said the Bakersfield Fire Department will bring a fire truck out for children (and interested adults) to check out. Firefighters will also be able to answer questions about the equipment and their wok.
“Bring your families. We want people to enjoy this park . ... We want to draw people to this space for a day of activity and to meet their neighbors.”
The event will also feature a variety of food vendors including Homies Tacos, Dre’s Twisted Kitchen, 502 Coffee Co., Get It Twisted (spiral-cut fried potatoes), Antojitos Kesi (agua frescas and more) and Cookyland, which provides the frosting, sprinkles and more for customers to decorate
their own cookies.
“I’m bringing all my money and I’m just going to try everything,” Felkins said.
Performances will be held throughout the day in the park’s amphitheater starting at 11 a.m. with Latin oldies band Grupo Feliz, which will also perform at 1 p.m. The Danza Azteca Ameyaltzn dance group is set to go on at 11:45 a.m., followed by Mariachi
San Marcos at noon. Bakersfield City School District folklorico dancers will perform at 1:45 p.m. followed by ubiquitous party band Mento Buru at 2 p.m. La Revancha will go on at 2:45 p.m. and Mento Buru is back at 3:30 p.m. to close out the live performances.
Along with music and dance, art will be an important component of the festival. Artist Evelyn Dominguez will be the featured artist, with her painted panel being on display.
Felkins said, “She’s working with the theme ‘east Bakersfield’ and incorporating as much as she can encompass on this panel.”
The art project began with the last festival held in 2019, Gonzales said. Those panels were stored after the event and will also be on display on Saturday.
The goal is to commission a new artist each year to paint a panel to add to the presentation, he said.
“It’s a tradition we want to continue . ... In 20 years, we’ll have a whole collection throughout the park.”
New this year are local vendors, who have handmade items or those utilizing local talent. Some include Birdcage Ink, which supports and publishes local authors as well
as sells gently used books; and Sassafras Fiber Studio, with creations that are hand-dyed or use recycled materials.
Felkins said artist Jennifer Williams used her local art contacts to help bring in more creatives.
Children First will also offer drawing opportunities and activities for children. The festival is a fundraiser for the nonprofit, which is focused on
providing resources to the community to keep children healthy and on the path to success.
“We want folks to know what we’re doing in their community,” Felkins said of the booth the organization will have at the event.
“Even during the pandemic, we didn’t stop the food distributions. We recognized the community needed that. Funds raised will go to tutoring and
mentoring programs as well as activities at the (David Nelson) Pocket Park.
Along with enjoying a variety of free activities, organizers want attendees to understand and celebrate the whole community.
“Through this festival, we want to send a message that east Bakersfield is a vibrant place with smart, talented, creative people,” Gonzales said. “We have a rich history that we want to recognize.
“This is a moment to celebrate, bring community members together.”