Spirit of Venice Award To Be Presented to David King

Just three days after accepting the "SEED" Award from the South Bay Business Environmental Coalition on September 22, DAVID KING will be honored with the "Spirit of Venice" Award at the Abbot Kinney Festival!

Come out and celebrate with us as David -- the Founder and Chair of SLOLA and Gardenmaster of The Learning Garden at Venice High School -- receives this award at the annual Abbot Kinney Festival on Sunday, September 25.

The awards ceremony takes place on the Andalusia Stage (across the street from Intelligentsia) beginning at around 3:15 pm. Winners of The Spirit of Venice Awards are nominated by the community for their contributions to the heart and soul of Venice. David King's nomination was unanimously agreed upon by the committee members!

One of Southern California’s most popular community events, the 27th annual Abbot Kinney Festival will be held on Sunday, September 25, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Held on the last Sunday of September since 1984, the FREE community festival features local artisans, live music, great food, family entertainment, and lots more.

Check out the indie band line-up at the Andalusia Stage produced by Milkmade. Head over to the Brooks Stage for live music and deejay tunes curated by L.A. Record and dublab. The Palms Stage at The Brig will showcase popular deejays from dublab. 

Organized by the Abbot Kinney Festival Association (AKFA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the annual Abbot Kinney Festival has grown in size and popularity to become one of the largest of its kind in the country, attracting nearly 150,000 people. Proceeds from sponsorships, booth exhibitor fees, official merchandise, and event concessions benefit youth and families through the AKFA Community Grants Program.

During this year’s Abbot Kinney Festival, beginning at 3:15 PM on the Andalusia Stage, the AKFA board of directors will award grants to the following Venice nonprofits: 826LA, Beyond Baroque, Inside Out Community Arts, Venice Arts, Venice Oceanarium, and A Window Between Worlds.

In addition, the 2011 recipients of the AKFA’s Spirit of Venice Awards will be recognized. Nominated by the community for their contributions to the heart and soul of Venice, they include the following:

• David King, Garden Master of Venice High School Learning Garden and Founder & Chair of the Seed Library of Los Angeles (SLOLA)

• Venice Art Crawl (accepted by co-founders Daniel Samakow, Edizen Stowell, Mark Rojas)

• Yo! Venice! (accepted by co-founder Bret)

• Teresa Skinner, Sr. Lead Officer at Los Angeles Police Department

Parking & Transportation: Ride your bike, carpool with friends, or use public transportation such as Metro (www.metro.net), Santa Monica Big Blue Bus (www.bigbluebus.com), and Playa Vista Beach Shuttle. Venice Beach has public parking lots, but spaces fill early. Several parking lots are located near Windward and on Electric Ave., Washington Blvd. near Venice Pier, and in Marina del Rey. Look for spaces along Venice Blvd. west of Lincoln Blvd. and along Main St. 

NOTE: The Abbot Kinney Festival and Los Angeles Triathlon have worked together to minimize early-morning inconveniences that any street closures from both events may cause. Festival organizers have been informed that the westbound lanes of Venice Blvd. will be kept open at all times and that the eastbound lanes of Venice Blvd. are expected to be open no later than 11 AM.