P.S. Arts “Taste of Venice” a Lesson in Creativity

Enthusiastic volunteers and prominent chefs of Venice turned out recently inside the Lincoln Place Apartment Homes to host guests with food and spirit samplings, at the 2015 TASTE OF VENICE, benefitting the award-winning, quarter-century old, P.S. (Public School) ARTS. Billed as “Good Food for a Great Cause,” the day also showed originality and inventiveness worthy of any strong creative endeavor from the graphics to the live music.

TASTE OF VENICE certainly  had the feel of a grassroots neighborhood event. It was a cross between a mini-version of the classic Venice Art Walk and the original LA A La Carte days that put the neighborhood on the event map decades ago.   Hidden down a side street between two remodeled shopping center areas, the Lincoln Place Apartments on Elk Grove Circle are set off from busy Lincoln, and yet easily accessible.

VIP Guests strolled the grounds to reach chefs, who prepared food in the unoccupied apartment unit kitchens inside two-story buildings.   It was an ingenious and money-saving tactic to be hosted by the complex in return for a look at the property.   At a separate venue onsite, later in the day, food and spirit samplings at booths had the background to the Ugly Sweaters (photo by James Wilson) and DJ Ben Goldsmith of Backhaus Productions.

 

Friends and families documented their day at the Bosco Photobooth presented by Cheeky Booth. And an inviting look to future events was at the sign up table for opportunities to sign up for runs or walks to benefit Arts Education. They includes the 2016 LA Marathon, Charity Relay or LA Big 5K. The instant reward was a gift bag.

Joe’s estaurant with the venerable Joseph Miller (photo by James Wilson),

and the crew of Vicki Fan, James Trees, Carlos Enriquez and Bryan Weaver from the trendy Superba Food and Bread and Superba Snack Bar VIP chefs showed the range of VIP. restaurants and chefs.

The same can be said of the Main Event Participants, which includes Angel City Brewery, Baby Blues BBQ and Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Flake and Kreation Kafe & Juicery, Komodo, Larry’s Mestizo Mezcal and Nice Cream.

 

The main staff of P.S. Arts was more than friendly and helpful at the event – offering to walk guests to each destination, which seemed miles away in the blistering heat without shade or a map, all correctable glitches for the future, along with parking a long distance away from the entrance and a  confusing layout. Volunteers were friendly but lacked information

If we live in a sorry state of affairs, in which public school arts have to be privately funded, P.S. Arts indeed proves that parents, teachers, students and friends do have resiliency and can provide the hard work to make this happen in such a festive way as The Taste of Venice. P.S. Arts programs include instructor training and they offer a variety of  volunteer opportunities.

For more info and to participate, www.P.S. Arts.org, (310) 586-1017, 1728 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Suite 101, Venice, CA 90291.