The fourth annualLos Angeles Food & WineFestival will once again take over Downtown Los Angeles’ Grand Ave. fromAugust 21-24, 2014,bringing an electrifying evening of beats and bites, including a marquee performance from multiple Grammy-winning recording artist,CommononSaturday, August 23, 2014.Opening for Common that night will be a live performance from African children’s ensembleamaWolseley Marimbas. Both performances will round out the weekend of festivities on the festival’s main stage, located on Grand Avenue between 1stand 2ndStreets. Common, will perform hits from his recently released tenth studio albumNobody’s Smiling, along with songs from his previous recordings. An appreciation of great food and respect for the diverse L.A. dining scene and its talented culinary artists inspired the collaboration with the festival for Common’s performance.
The city of Los Angeles, long known as a mecca for creative talent from every background in a diverse array of fields, once again has whole-heartedly thrown its support behind the festival. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has praised Los Angeles Food & Wine for its positive impact on the city, saying “Our diversity and surging neighborhoods have put our city at center of the food world and this year’s Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival will put attendees on the front lines of L.A.’s culinary revolution.”
Additional performances will include the amaWolseley Marimbas, who first came together in September 2012, when they were discovered in the rural townships surrounding Wolseley in South Africa’s Witzenberg Valley. None of the children had ever heard or seen a marimba prior to the auditions, but were selected based on rhythm and then taught to play. The eight current members (14-15 years old) now regularly perform at live events in South Africa and throughout the United States
Los Angeles Food & Wine festival co-founder and CEO David A. Bernahl II praised the upcoming performances, saying, “Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival continues to celebrate the second-to-none culinary and cultural diversity that is LA. We see no better way to honor that eclectic electricity than a world class mash up of Grammy award winning artist Common and a group of ridiculously talented kids from the other side of the world.”
The critically acclaimed Common, and the amaWolseley Marimbas, are a great complement to the four-day epicurean fête produced byCoastal Luxury Management, also the team behindPebble Beach Food & Wine. The festival is presented by founding partnersFOOD & WINEand Lexus, as well as major partners Chase, Delta Air Lines, JENN-AIR, and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Los Angeles Food & Wine continues its position as the only homegrown festival to provide Angelenos and visitors unparalleled access to the food industry’s most celebrated local and national stars.
As guests sample one-of-a-kind gourmet creations, discover new and unique wines and enjoy a performance by Common, attendance will help to end childhood hunger in Los Angeles and across America with the festival’s live auction benefiting Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign–a national effort to end childhood hunger in the United States. Tickets for the gastronomic gathering are available on-line and at the door to each event, pending advance sales. Up-to-the-minute information on participants, event line-up, media credentials, and purchasing tickets is available atwww.lafw.com
WHEN:Saturday, August 23
- 7-10 p.m.: “Lexus Live on Grand” (Grand Ave. between 1stand 2ndSt)
- Hosted by Michael Chiarello, including live musical performances from Common and the amaWolseley Marimbas
WHERE: Downtown Los Angeles on Grand Ave., between 1stSt. and 2ndSt. (in front of the Disney Concert Hall)
