Last Wednesday, the first annual Smile Fest took place at Malibu Wines and raised just over $6,000 for two local charities.
Created and run by five local Malibu teens — recent Malibu High School (MHS) graduates Chris Hall, Cat Evers, Gannon Earhart, Charlotte Jackson, and rising MHS senior Logan Lozano — the musical benefit raised money for two charities, Operation Smile and Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House. With combined ticket sales (at the door and online), raffle tickets, vendor contributions and generous donations, the event raised more than 6,000 dollars in all, which will be donated directly to the two charities.
“Overall, it was a great day and night. Our goal was to spread as many smiles that we could to our community and to those [who] truly need it, and I think we did that,” said Hall, who has been in charge of planning the event since March.
With a variety of local Los Angeles musicians and bands, including VOKES, We Are the West, The Roman Helmets, Diana Ebe, Ohm, and Cat & the K-9’s, guests were able to enjoy themselves among fellow community members as they listened to great music and sipped on a complimentary glass of wine.
“The music was so fun and the sound was amazing, especially being outside,” said Evers, who performed with Hall early on in the evening with her band Cat & the K-9’s. “You think the sound is just going to go everywhere, being next to Mulholland Highway, but it really sounded good. Oh, and the food was great.”
In addition to local food options such as Farm & Flame and Porcelli Pizza, Co., attendees had many other vendor options including Sharon Rose Jewelry, RVCA, Kerri Wilder Jewelry, Freedom Farm and 27 Miles, all of which committed to donating portions of their profits to the two charities.
With over three months of preparation and tireless work, these Malibu students were happy to see their efforts finally pay off.
“It was very quaint. It was just so much fun to have the kind of energy we had and to see it all culminate, and to see people come together for such a good cause and such a fun event,” Lozano said.
While the festival may have seemed laid back to event-goers, the teens all learned how much effort it truly takes to pull together a successful fundraiser.
“I learned how hard planning an event is. People warned me, but I was really not prepared for the amount of work that this would take,” Hall explained. “But one thing that I also learned is the amount of generosity that exists in our community, because so many people joined the cause and helped us out when we really needed it, and it was very much appreciated.”
In addition to the hours spent running the show, the teens also had to put in an extra effort to encourage ticket sales: hanging up posters around Malibu and in local businesses, utilizing social media, and reaching out to friends and family in the community.
“We were kind of worried about ticket sales at first, because being in Malibu, everyone’s like, ‘Oh, I’ll do it later, or just get tickets at the door,’ because it’s the lifestyle here. But being there [at Malibu Wines] surrounded by all the people, I’m definitely impressed and happy on how it turned out,” said Evers.
With a beautiful backdrop of the Santa Monica Mountains to set the scene, the event was filled with smiling guests starting from the opening time of 4:30 p.m. until closing at 9, with ticket sales reaching above 200.
Although the first year was a great success, the majority of the founding members of the Smile Fest will be starting their college journeys in the fall, in hopes Smile Fest will become a new Malibu tradition that will take place annually, and something that can be passed on for future students to run.
“Now that we’ve established Smile Fest as a “thing” this year, it will set a precedent for years to come. This has been the coolest thing in the entire world,” noted Earhart.
With such a great turnout in the first year, the students hope that the following years will only bring more members of the community to come together for a good cause.
“I think the goal for every year is to just keep expanding [Smile Fest], to get the message out, and help contribute more to the charities every year,” commented Lozano, who will be the only member of the event team that will be returning to MHS and is eager to keep the tradition going.
With thousands of dollars in donations and more than two hundred happy guests, the Malibu teens are excited about their success at Smile Fest and look forward to expanding it in the years to come.
