Last summer concert of 2018

So, Downey's Twilight Summer Concert Series is over for this year. It ended with the Lindy Sisters, who are an Andrew Sisters tribute band. The 1940s swing era group kept the audience entertained with classic hits like "In the Mood" and "Rum and Coca-Cola." See their upcoming events, history, and songs for sale here.

They certainly had some of the audience up and swing dancing.

“Don't breathe to survive; dance and feel alive.”
~ Shah Asad Rizvi

Dance the night away

There were three stages for music performances at the Downey International Food and Music Festival this year. At each one, people were dancing and swaying to the music (in this case, The Little Mermaid's Under the Sea).

And it wasn't just the crowd enjoying the music. The musicians also looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Humans of Downey - Edward

"I'm a dancer. I'm a swing dancer and a blues dancer. My last dance I went to was in Pasadena on Saturday. I went to see Flattop Tom and His Jump Cats. I've been following them for many years. Tomorrow night I'm heading to a dance in Burbank at Joe's Great All American Bar and Grill. It's a rockabilly band called Crown City Bombers. Saturday I'm going back into Pasadena to see Debbie Watson out of Austin, Texas. She's a blues girl.

"In 1952, I was in the 5th grade at Our Lady, Queen of Angels, in Los Angeles. Sister Mary, my teacher, noticed that I had rhythm. She asked me if she could teach me how to do the swing. From Sister Mary's adventure I fell in love with her. So much so that I wanted to get married to her. When I asked her to marry me she said she was already married. And I said, to who? She said, to Jesus. And I shook my fist to the heavens and said, 'Aahh.' But I've been dancing ever since.

"I met my first wife on the dance floor, at a wedding. I was 18 years old and fell in love. We were married within 6 months. We produced four great children. The marriage didn't last long but we are still friends."

~ Edward

PS This interview took place at Furman Park during the Wiseguys concert, one of the Concert in the Park series on Wednesday nights. Next week will feature the Downey Symphony. Come out and enjoy the free entertainment at 7:00pm.

Suave the Band

The Downey free summer concerts began last Wednesday at Furman Park. The first sounds this year came from Suave the Band, Latin Dance. And, there were plenty of people who wanted to dance.



It was a lot of fun to watch the dancers moving to the beat and clearly having the time of their lives. One of the understandings of the word Suave is confident or self-possessed. These dancers were definitely "suave."

Humans of Downey - Sharlene

"I am passionate about the arts. Throughout my life I have been placed in all kinds of arts. I feel that I have been called to serve other people through the arts. One art that I entered and did for a very long time, in fact I still do, is dance. I first started dance as a freshman in high school. I had tried other artistic endeavors like cheer, soccer, or ice skating, but they only lasted for a year. But then I started in dance and I loved dance. I first joined because I wanted to have an extracurricular activity in high school, but I fell in love with it and I continued for all four years. I even continued and joined a collegiate group to compete against other groups.

"Then I felt led to bring dance to the community and so I started a ministry of dance at a local Downey church. I teach five different classes there. The church runs it sort of like a studio called Revolution Dance and Performing Arts. It is open to anyone in the community and my students range from 3 to 50 years old. I teach lyrical ballet, jazz, ballet, and hip-hop. In all these classes I incorporate teaching the students to worship God in their dance. They learn how to praise God and let God move through them as they use their gifts. I grew up with dance and it hit home when a friend asked me if she could teach me a dance move. Of course I said yes, and little by little I felt God changing my heart and the reason for my dancing."
~ Sharlene

Dancing with the heart part 2

After the elegance of the all-white costumes of their first dance, Folklor Pasion Mexicana's next number at Wednesday's Concert in the Park was full of color, and just as much fun.

Dancing with the heart

Wednesday evening found us back at Furman Park for the next in the series of Concerts in the Park. This concert featured Folklor Pasion Mexicana and Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuellar. These pictures show Folklor Pasion Mexicana, who have been here before.

I enjoy watching the swiftness and the swirling grace of the dancers, and the pure enjoyment on their faces. For this dance, the all-white costumes were particularly impressive.

"Dancing with the feet is one thing. But dancing with the heart is another."
~ Anonymous

The fabulous Esquires

Today we were at a friend's wedding. Both the bride and groom and many of their friends are into swing dancing. So, they arranged to have the Esquires play at the wedding. The Esquires play big band swing music. And, they play it well.

The Esquire Music Foundation was established in 1967 as a non-profit training program to teach young musicians how to play authentic dance music of the "Big Band Era." The conductor, Downey resident Eric Brundin, was fun to watch. Check out their website here.

The reception started with swing lessons for everyone. What a fun experience!

We danced the night away...some of the dancers were amazing and the rest of us just had a great time. I was personally inspired by the little girl in the first picture. She danced to every song.

"Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance"
~ Dave Barry

Fiestas Patrias

Fiestas Patrias, a celebration of Mexico's independence from Spain. Stonewood Center sponsored this event with Folklorico dancers, mariachi music, contests, and food. My favorite were the dancers. They were colorful and fun to watch. Clearly they were enjoying themselves.



Of course, the kids were adorable.

Motown from the past

I grew up listening to Motown music so tonight's concert by Stone Soul was a blast from the past. Matt Gray, the lead vocal, had the sounds of the various artists down very well so that you could close your eyes and feel you were back at a 70s concert listening to some of the greats. You can see their website here.

This was the largest crowd of dancers I have seen at this summer's concerts. They weren't moving quite as quickly as I remember the dancers of my youth, but they were having as much fun.

My Big Fat Greek Food Festival

This weekend was the annual Greek Food Festival. We try to never miss it! It is always a fun event with traditional Greek music, dancing, food and more.

Unfortunately, we went late this year so I missed the roasting of the lambs, but they were still chopping away at a mountain of meat when we arrived.

Of course, there were the standard blue and white striped tents lining the area. And, the food...I simply could not resist. I had both moussaka and a spanakopita! Both were yummy.

And, I bought some great smelling cream from a booth called "Holy Honey." But, my favorite is always the dancing.



"Dance is the hidden language of the soul"
~ Martha Graham

Greek dancing

Of course the food is a treat at the Greek Food Festival (see Greeks and food), but the highlight of the festival is watching the kids put on their dance performances.

A girl can dream

Dressed as she is, I have to imagine that this young girl (or her mother) is dreaming of her future performance with the other Greek dancers at last weekend's Greek Festival at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church.

Downey is in many ways a small town. I didn't know when I took this picture, but it turns out that this child is my friend's niece.

Everybody wants to be Greek!

Every June, St. George Greek Orthodox Church holds a Greek Festival where there is food, dancing and pure enjoyment. Who can resist the smell of roasting lambs, greek fries, moussaka? Certainly not me. I look forward to the festival every year.

After we finished eating (I had a lamb gyro with greek fries - YUM), we took a tour of the church, led  by one of the parishioners. He did a great job of explaning some of the history of the church; along with the significance of the iconography that is displayed on the interior of the church.

And, of course, there was dancing!

Folklor Pasion Mexicana

I have to admit, it was a lot of fun to watch these dancers. They were fun even before the show began. They were animated and clearly ready to enjoy themselves. I found myself drawn to both the colors and all the activity.



They put on a great show.

Twilight Summer Concert Series, part 3

This week's summer concert was put on by the Mariachi Monumental de America and Folklor Pasion and Mexicana de Los Angeles. (Say that three times fast!) Both the band and the dancers were great—enthusiastic, talented, and a lot of fun to watch.

When I get older...

This little girl was so proud of her older brother while he was dancing at the Greek Festival this past weekend. She was dancing around to the music and as soon as he was done, she ran up to him and I shot the picture.

It's Greek to me

Today we attended the 25th annual St. George Greek Festival. We decided to walk because the weather was perfect. While we were still blocks away, we began to hear the traditional Greek music and smell the amazing scent of roasting meat. Roasting the lambs was no easy job. You could see the heat rising as this man stirred the coals with a long-handed shovel. Of course, we had to have something to eat.



And then the dancing began with the littlest kids first. They were adorable!



But, I have to admit, these guys were my favorite. They had so much energy and were really fun to watch!