This year marks the 20th year of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California. As previously reported, there were thousands of books ranging from children to young adult and many more in between. There were also several celebrities that brought their own books for people to purchase as well as a cooking stage, music and much more.
Watch now to see just which books were the highlight of this year’s festival and stay tuned for a follow up with even more exclusive interviews from more of the authors at the 2015 LA Times Festival of books.
On the first Saturday in April, the City of Oxnard celebrated Earth day with fun and festivities at Plaza Park. There was free gardening tips with California friendly plants as well as composting and more for all in Plaza Park.
Watch the video below to see all the fun and activities that was provided free of charge to all residents.
For the first two weekends in March, residents celebrate the annual migration of the grey whale with a variety of fun events for all ages.
Large balloons including this grey whale entertained crowds as the parade made its way down the historic Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point.
A friendly octopus greeted kids while flying high in the sky.
The sea turtle reminded of all of the wildlife in our oceans.
And residents didn’t need to go on a boat to see this killer whale as dozens of people controlled the largest balloon in the parade.
As the only human balloon, this pirate reminded crowds of the real people that sailed across the oceans.
Shark! But this one had to be kept down as winds made the balloon difficult to control.
There were also various high school marching bands and as well as Dana Point’s 5th Marine Regiment, who came all the way down from San Clemente to march for the whales.
Marines carried the colors as crowds saluted with miniature American Flags.
High school marching bands played various sea tunes and drum cadences down the highway.
Drill teams danced and Tall Flags twirled to the music.
There was also a street fair that further kept crowds entertained with a variety of different booths.
Ocean Institute reminded crowds of the various discoveries and creatures in the ocean.
local farmers brought their latest harvest to sale at the farmers market.
And pet day care groups like camp bow wow offered special offers to pet owners to encourage them to use their services.
Down by Dana Point Wharf, local artists had their latest creations on display for the Art Show and sale.
Artists of all types from photography to color pencil as well as paints brought out their latest creations of the sea.
These painting are on sale at Wharf until March 15.
Crowds marveled at the beauty that the artist captured.
And as the sun set at Lantern Park and crowds took in the beauty of the coast, the festival concluded its first day with a fitting movie overlooking the ocean.
The park overlooked the entire harbor area of Dana point.
Residents spread out blankets in the park as the sunset over the ocean.
The Disney Classic, The Little Mermaid entertained crowds as they enjoyed free popcorn and refreshments while watching the movie.
People of all ages came out to the annual Date festival in Indio, California to enjoy the sights and sound of the first county fair 2015 in Southern California. The Riverside County Fair opened on Valentines Day weekend and provided ten days of fun with local farmers, who brought dates for purchase on the fairgrounds. There was also music performances by a different band each day, including Journey Revisited, a tribute band to the legendary rock legends. Also unique to this fair was the annual ostrich and camel races which always got people enthusiastic about the animals.
To see and hear more about the fun, watch the video below.
On Dec. 7, 2014, residents of Chatsworth enjoyed music, fun floats and children that marched down Devonshire street from Topanga Canyon Boulevard toward Mason Street ending at the street festival on Canoga, between Devonshire and Lassen.
The Condor Fleet circled devonshire street in several formations as crowds awaited the much anticipated holiday parade.
The entire community came out to support the festivities and share good cheer with all.
Students of Chatsworth High led the way as the band played holiday favorites down the street.
And of course the JROTC of a local high school proudly displayed the colors.
A Royal Court waved to spectators on the side of the street.
Even Elsa joined the parade with her other fellow princesses who marched down Devonshire.
Classic movie cars like the blues brothers mobile drove down preparing spectators for the car show that followed.
A local Karate School demonstrated their skills on top a flat bed truck.
Other younger Karate students marched in front of the truck.
Of course, no holiday parade is complete without Santa and Mrs. Claus on top their sleigh.
On the Second weekend of October, hundreds of vendors brought their own taste to the Anaheim Convention Center at the Original Arts and Crafts Harvest Festival. There was thousands of handcrafted originals from a variety of food options to fashion and even a unique travel laundry bag that its creators hoped to entice crowds to purchase . And artists like Duo Hijinx, Scott Land’s Marionettes and even a juggler showed up to offer their talents on the three day weekend while residents shopped for hours at the convention center.
To see more of what was at this year’s festival, click the video below.
Based on the broadway musical, Jersey Boys, stars “Law and Order” actors, John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, and Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito, and is the story of how Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons came to be, through their childhood struggles in New Jersey on to their smashing ten year run and finally how money problems lead to the unforeseen split of the group. It’s told through the eyes of band members, DeVito and Nick Massey, played by newcomer, Michael Lomenda.
With great musical performances, such as “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Sherry” and the romantic ballad, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”, the actors really sang to a thousands of movie goers over the weekend as the musical took in over 13.5 million, though it didn’t take the number one spot, it is still a movie worth seeing. Just make sure to keep straight who is narrating because the character shifts can get a little unclear. That being said, it is still a great movie, highly rated for all music lovers.
Jersey Boys was directed by Clint Eastwood and released and distributed by Warner Brothers on June 20, 2014.
On the four day Memorial weekend, Garden Grove held their 56th annual Strawberry Festival, complete with a parade of celebrities as well as the first ever 5K Strawberry run. This year’s theme was “honoring our exceptional educators” and teachers and staff members were honored with the strawberry parade as well as the pancake breakfast.
To learn more about this festival, watch the video below.
On Saturday March 15, 2014 from 1 to 6, Long Beach residents experienced everything Native American at Shoreline Village in a Free Festival. With music, storytelling and arts and crafts, people were able to learn a little about the Native culture.
Watch below to see the beautiful dances that were being displayed just off the coast of the port of Long Beach.
As Fall sets in and the weather turns cool, in Anaheim, local farmers, and other handyman came out on October 11 through the 13 to showcase their best works of art at the Harvest Festival. From musicians and artists to wood carvers and more, there were over 24 thousand handcrafted originals, musicians including Powerhouse and a Rock and Roll singing pianist named Brady Goss and well as great food all at relatively reasonable prices.
