Movies, live bands and more offered at 5th annual festival at Bluffs Park.
By Paula Kashtan / Special to The Malibu Times
Adventure is the theme for this weekend’s Malipalooza festival, which is planned for this Saturday at Malibu Bluffs Park.
The event, celebrating its fifth anniversary this summer, will feature local bands, food trucks, games and activities for children, and an outdoor showing of “Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark” at dusk.
City Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich helped bring Malipalooza into existence in 2007. Inspiration for the event came from the Monterey International Pop Music Festival of 1967, which featured acts like The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
“The idea is to bring people together for the love of music and to just have fun,” Conley Ulich said. “We wanted to give kids a place to showcase their talents for the community.”
Three local bands will get that opportunity on Saturday. Kenon, Impakt and Ote for President-first, second and viewers’ choice winners, respectively, at the Harry Barovsky Youth Commission Battle of the Bands that took place in May-are set to start playing at 4:30 p.m. Island Rhythms, a cover band that plays everything from reggae to top 40 music, is headlining the event.
From 4 p.m. to dusk (likely around 7:30 p.m.), the focus will be on music, games and food. In keeping with the adventure theme, there will be an archaeological dig for children, where youth can use tools to dig up play “dinosaur bones.” Also in the adventure category is a giant inflatable bounce house, as well as the Reptacular group, which will host a touch tank full of snakes, lizards and other reptiles. New this year is gourmet food trucks, which will sell food at cost. Local nonprofit groups will also be setting up informational booths.
At dusk, attention will shift to the big screen for a 30th anniversary celebration showing of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” The screening is in partnership with CineMalibu, which sponsors community movies in the park. Malipalooza featured a film in its first year (fittingly, “Monterey Pop,” a documentary on the festival), then dropped the tradition until last year, which saw an ‘80s theme and a showing of “Grease.”
Kristine Riesgo, recreation supervisor for the City of Malibu and organizer of the event, said the film is part of an overall plan to bring attention back to the festival.
“The first year, there was a lot more involvement from the community,” she said.
That year, the festival was in large part aimed at raising funds for Legacy Park, which garnered much enthusiasm and support for Malipalooza. Summers since haven’t shown as much support for the event, but Riesgo is working hard to change that.
“We’re trying hard to make this a fun community event, a kind of last hurrah before school starts where kids and their families can get together,” she said. “We really want to foster community service.”
Spencer Peark, a member of the parks and recreation commission, agrees that the event has evolved over the last few years.
“It used to be a big music show, but it’s a lot mellower now than it used to be,” he said. “It’s much more of a family affair and kid-friendlier now.”
Riesgo recommends bringing blankets, chairs and sunscreen. Free parking will be available on Malibu Canyon Road.
More information about the event can be obtained by calling 310.317.1364.