Los Angeles – Tens of thousands of revelers gathered downtown for the biggest West Coast New Year’s Eve celebration to ring in the New Year and to usher in a new decade.
This year’s celebration was bigger and gets better as the years go by. The 7th Annual festivities took place in the heart of downtown Los Angeles engulfed seven blocks from LA’s iconic City Hall through the newly renovated Music Center Plaza (from Los Angeles Street to Hope Street and from Temple to 3rd Street).
The celebration attracted Angelenos from all across the region as well as out of state guests and international tourists. This has become a yearly tradition for many in attendance at this family-friendly event.
Attendees snapped keepsake photos at the various photo booths spread out on the well maintained, relaxing, grounds of Grand Park.
Forty different food trucks provided an array of delightful treats to satiate one’s taste buds. The food trucks were organized in Metro Line “villages,’ representing the many communities found along the Blue, Red, Purple, Green, Gold and Expo lines.
Another highlight of the evening was the live entertainment emanating from two stages. Purveyors of two of Los Angeles’s popular dance nights-Cherry Poppin’ (featuring DJ Rell and DJ Bonds and hosted by KG Superstar) followed by Gasolina (featuring DJ Chava and DJ Krucial) laid down tight sounds of Old School classis tracks, Hip-Hop and a dose of Reggaeton, on the park’s “Get Down Stage” (located near Hill Street).
Emmy-award winning TV host Pili Montilla served as Mistress of Ceremony on the “Countdown Stage” (located near Spring Street). DJ Pauli, “The PSM” (Drummer with the Gorillaz) was spinning an eclectic mix of beats, that had the crowd moving their feet’s.
The show opened on the “Countdown Stage” with an energetic set of Banda and Cumbia performed superbly by Banda Las Angelinas (Compton’s all-female band group).
Thee Sinseers thrilled the crowd with a splendid set of original tunes, couple with their renditions of Old School classic R&B hits, seasoned exceptionally well with some East LA soul.
The Pan African Peoples Arkestra (Leimert Park’s legendary Afro-beat jazz band) brought the house down leading up to the countdown to midnight, to the delight of the huge crowd gathered in Grand Park.
The icing on the proverbial cake were witnessing the one-of-a-kind 3-D video countdown, (on the West facing wall of City Hall), to midnight with pyrotechnics to ring in the New Year! This marvelous production was designed by L.A. based digital innovation studio yU+co.
Ricky Richardson is a Southern California based writer, music reviewer and photographer. Contact him via: [email protected]
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