Sunday, October 7, 10am – 4pm
Immersive installations, performing artists, and inspiration along two mile
The City of Santa Monica’s third annual open streets event COAST will celebrate the city’s commitment to art, sustainability, and mobility on Sunday, Oct. 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. At this free event, the public will experience two miles of streets closed to car traffic and filled with interactive art exhibits, live performances, local food and business purveyors, and connections with families, friends and neighbors.
In its second year in 2017, COAST welcomed more than 50,000 visitors of all ages to Downtown Santa Monica for the event. This year, the route will feature a variety of interactive and eclectic performances including a performance stage on Ocean Avenue at Santa Monica Boulevard, strolling musicians, dancers and large-scale immersive art installations at site-specific locations to be discovered along the route.
Aerial Artist John Q will gather up to 1,000 people in real time at the event creating a live human installation to artistically illustrate art, mobility and sustainability. Artists Jana Cruder and Matthew LaPenta demonstrate the impact of disposable plastic on the natural environment with their larger-than-life art installation titled, Natural Plasticity, constructed of a massive plastic straw and giant plastic bottle towering nearly 30 feet high. Event goers will have an opportunity to contribute their personal mark to artist Peter Tigler’s interactive thumbprint mural that will take shape with public participation to illustrate a message of mobility and sustainability.
The Santa Monica Community Garden offers a variety of ways to explore the natural world through garden tours, arts and crafts, planting tips, and a how-to on preparing home-grown vegetables. Active Santa Monica will lead a series of engaging sessions ranging from dance to sports. Santa Monica Spoke will teach bike and scooter safety skills at the Bike Rodeo as well as provide an opportunity for participants to decorate helmets.
“Annually, COAST unites the community and gives them the opportunity to interact with Santa Monica’s public spaces in a new, reimagined way,” said Ted Winterer, Mayor of The City of Santa Monica. “The interactive and creative programming elevates and strengthens our commitment to art, sustainability and mobility.”
COAST will be held on two miles of streets closed to street traffic, including Ocean Avenue from Wilshire Boulevard to Tongva Park, as well as Main Street to Marine Street. To attend COAST, visitors can ride the Expo Line, Big Blue Bus, or take advantage of Santa Monica’s 110 miles of bikeways.
Attendees are encouraged to ride their bikes and walk along the route. Bike rentals will be available at multiple locations along the route as well as 85 Breeze stations located throughout Santa Monica. Free bike valets will be available to make it easy to check-in your bike to grab lunch and enjoy the entertainment.
For more information about COAST, visit www.smgov.net/coast and join the conversation on social media using #COASTSaMo.