Block Party

By Chad Deal / Photos by Paul Body

The North Park Festival of Arts has grown into a staple affair for Uptown’s creative community since its inception seventeen years ago. This year’s installment features 40 artists, five live-performance stages and a Craft Beer Block featuring more than 25 San Diego breweries.

Centered on the crossroads of University Avenue and the renowned craft beer corridor of 30th Street, the festival will be held on a Saturday (May 18) to encourage guests to explore the neighborhood’s numerous bars and eateries after the beer garden closes at 9 p.m.

(Beer garden tickets are $25 in advance, or $30 at the door, and include 12 four-ounce pours in a commemorative glass.)

The spirit-savvy will want to check out the fest’s new cocktail class, where local bartenders will be teaching the tricks of their trade. As an added bonus, participants can sip their creations while practicing, and then take home a set of the tools needed to craft the concoctions.

The Kids Art Block offers mural painting, interactive jam sessions and old-timey carnival booths the little ones will ignore while playing Angry Birds.

Featured artist and North Park resident Sarah Stieber says she’s impressed by the community’s “consistent growth into a thriving arts district.”

Stieber will debut a series exploring the theme of Possibilities, along with limited edition prints including the festival’s featured image, “Supportive,” and “Onward and Upward,” a painting recently installed at the Courtyard by Marriott in the Gaslamp.

Says festival director and the neighborhood’s business improvement district executive director Angela Landsberg, “It’s a chance for North Park to shine.”

5/18: North Park Festival of Arts
University Ave. & 30th St., North Park
northparkfestivalofarts.com