Fiesta La Ballona, Culver City's annual "Party in the Park", will be held this weekend on August 26-28, 2016 at Veterans Park located at 4117 Overland Avenue in Culver City.

Fiesta will feature live performances, carnival rides and games, 80 vendor booths showcasing local groups, artisan wares and other vendors, pony rides and petting zoo, beer and wine garden, food trucks and a food court, sustainability activities and other special activities.

Admission is free. Please visit http://www.fiestalaballona.org or call (310) 253-6650 for more information.

Fiesta La Ballona event hours are 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, August 26; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, August 27; and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, August 28. Fiestagoers are advised that limited parking is available at Veterans Memorial Complex and at Culver City City Hall Garage on the P1 Level.

To avoid parking challenges, attendees are encouraged to take alternative transportation including Culver CityBus or to walk, bike and ride to Fiesta La Ballona.

Culver City's Fiesta La Ballona is recognized as a bicycle friendly event. Angel City Derby Girls and Palms Cycle will offer a secure bike valet for visitors who ride their bikes to the celebration on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Culver CityBus provides bicycle racks to encourage bike riding and public transportation. Please contact Culver CityBus, to plan your visit, at http://www.culvercitybus.com or (310) 253-6500. This year's Dial-A-Ride paratransit shuttle will operate Saturday 11 am to 8 pm and Sunday 11 am to 7 pm. The pick-up/drop-off zone will be in front of Culver City City Hall at 9770 Culver Boulevard. Fiestagoers will be transported to and from the Culver City Teen Center's rear parking lot.

Music and dance performances as well as special interactive activities are free. Food, drinks and other attractions are optional and an additional cost. Carnival ride tickets are $1 each with volume discounts. Each ride varies in number of tickets required, with many needing 3-4 tickets per ride. Friday night, starting at 5 pm, there will be a special offer of two riders for the price of one.

Wristbands, purchased for $25 in advance, are available for unlimited rides on Saturday or Sunday until 6 p.m. After 6 p.m., only ride tickets purchased at the ticket booth are valid. Wristband pre-sale for $25 ends Friday, August 26 at 7 pm. Wristbands purchased after that time are $30. More information on purchasing wristbands is available by contacting the City's Recreation Office at (310) 253-6650.

Fiesta's diverse musical programming will begin on Friday, August 26 at 4:30 pm with the Susie Hansen Latin Band performing Latin Jazz. Fiesta-Palooza will start at 6 pm and showcase five local teen bands including Kaliber, Mariachi Clandestino, Those in Favor, Scoop, and Silent Partner.

Vox Femina Los Angeles, a Culver City-based choral group, returns to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Opening Ceremony on Saturday, August 27 at 11:45 am. The Opening Ceremony will include welcoming remarks from the Mayor and other officials as well as a Color Guard presentation from Culver City's Boy Scout Troop 113 and acknowledgement of Isabella Bustanoby, a student of Culver City High School's Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, who designed the first commemorative t-shirt for Fiesta La Ballona.

Mariachi Voces de Mexico de Raul Sanchez will launch the Saturday performances at noon and they will be followed by Grupo La Rosa performing heritage dances of Mexico. U.K. Beat will offer British Invasion Rock at 1:45 pm, followed by On the Edge Dance Studio performing hip-hop and jazz dance. Sega Genecide will perform '90s Rock at 3:30 pm, followed by Versa-Style Dance Company performing hip-hop dance at 4:30 pm. At 5:15 pm Jeri Curl will offer a performance of '80s Funk and beyond with tributes to Prince, Michael Jackson and others. Next, Grupo Folklorico Tsintzuni will present lively heritage dances from the Americas. Starting at

http://www.dental50plus.com/143 #6258">

7 pm, "SoCal Saturday Night" will close the day with Woodie and the Longboards performing a tribute to The Beach Boys and Heartache Tonight performing a tribute to The Eagles.

Cali Rose & The CC Strummers will open the program on Sunday morning, August 28 with the sounds of ukulele music. Upstream will then perform Caribbean music at 11:45 am. This performance is sponsored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Grupo Folklorico Macias will follow with Mexican heritage dances. Sunday afternoon will feature Richárd Bernard's OY!Stars performing Klezmer and Mediterranean music at 1:30 pm, followed by Ho'Aloha Polynesian Dancers entertaining the audience with Polynesian heritage dances.

Brasil Brazil Show performs at 3:15 pm, followed by Bulgarian folk dances performed by Xorotroptzi. Igor and Red Elvises closes the entertainment program on Sunday with an hour-long set of Siberian Surf Rock at 5 pm. Stilt walkers, provided by Red Swan Entertainment, will rove the park both Saturday and Sunday.

In addition to live performances, many other attractions and activities will be available during Fiesta weekend. On Friday, August 26, seniors can enjoy several early bird special offers, between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Food Court and selected food trucks. Pony rides and a petting zoo will open Friday at 5 pm and 11 am on Saturday and Sunday. The Aquacade at the Culver City Municipal Plunge will occur on Saturday afternoon from 1 pm to 4 pm.

There will be a special $10 admission fee, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, for the Aquacade as well as for Lap and Recreation Swimming. KCET will have an interactive arts and education kiosk at Fiesta on Saturday from 11 am to 6 pm.

Fiestagoers will be able to meet the LA Galaxy Star Squad from 11 am to 3 pm and the LA Kings Ice Crew from 4 pm to 6:30 on Sunday. The Culver City Historical Society, located within Veterans Memorial Building, will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 12 pm to 4 pm. The commemorative Fiesta t-shirt will be available for sale at the Recreation Office from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

The Exchange Club's Beer & Wine Garden returns to Fiesta and will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If visitors come hungry to Fiesta, food trucks and Food Court booths will be offering options to satisfy anyone's appetite, including a variety of BBQ, global cuisine, and classic American fare as well as many desserts and sweets.

Fiesta La Ballona's Sustainability Booth will offer activities and presentations during Fiesta. Energy Efficiency with special guest Bulb Man, from 11 am to 3 pm, and Recycling and You, from 3 pm to 8 pm, are on Saturday.

Fiesta implements a zero waste policy to ensure resource recovery and protect scarce natural resources. The plan encompasses waste reduction, composting, recycling and reuse, changes in consumption habits and encouraging Fiesta participants to view zero waste as a personal evolution in the relationship between waste and people.

In an effort to work toward a zero waste Fiesta volunteers are trained on recycling procedures and will educate visitors on what to place in the recycling bins located throughout the Fiesta grounds. Vendors will be encouraged to donate surplus food to a food bank or food collection center.

The City of Culver City's Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department and the Fiesta La Ballona Committee organize and produce Fiesta along with the assistance of almost 70 volunteers.

This year's Fiesta Committee members include Chair Marcus G. Tiggs, Vice-Chair Celeste Anlauf, Randy Arizmendiz, Karen Gibbs, Ronnie Jayne, Jeanne Min, and Robert C. Wayne.

Sponsors are the backbone of Fiesta and contribute to making the event a great success. The Fiesta thanks the following local organizations and businesses who are sponsoring this year's event: Gold Sponsor Sony Pictures Entertainment; Silver Sponsors Access Culver City Apartment Homes, Cedars-Sinai, Tito's Tacos, Kane, Ballmer & Berkman, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Culver City Volvo-Mazda, and Southern California Gas Company; Bronze Sponsors The Culver Studios, Backstage Bar & Grill, Heather & Art Realtors, Lowe Enterprises, Golden State Water Company, West Basin Municipal Water District, Echo Horizon School, Southern California Edison, and AYSO Region 19 - Culver City; and Fiesta Friends Cavanaugh

Realtors, The Conservatory for Coffee, Tea & Cocoa, and See's Candies; In-Kind Sponsors Staples (Baldwin Hills Crenshaw), Steeldeck, Inc., Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum, and ZogSports: Event Activity Partners Palms Cycle, Angel City Derby Girls, LA Galaxy Star Squad, LA Kings Ice Crew, and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk; Media Partners LA Weekly and KCETLink; and Zero-Waste Partners Haynes Building Services and West Coast Arborists.

For a full list of attractions, activities, live performances, and all other Fiesta-related details, visit the Fiesta La Ballona website at http://www.FiestaLaBallona.org. You can also find Fiesta on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram #FLB2016 and YouTube. A program guide, which includes a map of the event and all scheduled activities, will be available at Fiesta La Ballona.