{"id":464503,"date":"2026-09-15T13:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T13:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/464503\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T13:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T13:50:12","slug":"sunburnt-fest-unites-la-creatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/464503\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunburnt Fest unites LA creatives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Sara Gomez, September 15, 2026<\/p>\n

Artists and creatives filled Lopez Urban Farm Sept. 5\u00a0with tables\u00a0showcasing\u00a0zines, artwork,\u00a0fashion\u00a0and food\u00a0for\u00a0Sunburnt\u00a0Fest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The festival ran from noon to 9 p.m. and featured\u00a0two stages where guests listened to poets sharing their original work\u00a0and\u00a0watched\u00a0artists like\u00a0Noamz\u00a0perform.\u00a0Noamz\u00a0played\u00a0the flute and\u00a0sang\u00a0songs about loving herself first.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The festival\u00a0brought together\u00a0different kinds\u00a0of\u00a0music,\u00a0ranging from\u00a0punk, R&B to\u00a0rap\u00a0and spoken word\u00a0poetry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Further into the farm, vendors lined up in a circle and offered self-made zines, written\u00a0poetry,\u00a0henna\u00a0designs\u00a0and mini thrift shops that displayed\u00a0clothing, beaded\u00a0accessories\u00a0and handmade pieces.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ruth Camila, a card reader at the festival, uses card readings to get to know people. She began using cards after the COVID-19 pandemic\u00a0to\u00a0look\u00a0for answers during a time of grief, but she\u00a0said the\u00a0farm\u2019s\u00a0location gave her a chance to step away from crowded environments and feel more present in the community around her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s something unique about being a farm that isn\u2019t in the middle of downtown Los Angeles,\u201d Camilia said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

These\u00a0scenes\u00a0marked the first\u00a0Sunburnt\u00a0Fest, a music and poetry festival organized by\u00a0Poetry\u00a0Peace\u00a0and Pluto\u2019s, two groups that host events spotlighting writers\u00a0in\u00a0Los Angeles County.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The <\/a> <\/p>\n

The main stage, seen when walking into the Sunburn Fest, featured a variety of musicians playing sounds like R&B and indie rock. Guests were able to sit in front of the stage, on top of rocks and were able to grab a snack to enjoy the show. Photo courtesy of Richard Velazquez | The Poly Post <\/p>\n

\"At <\/a> <\/p>\n

At the back of the farm, the Sunburn Fest featured a second stage where people walking by, shopping or getting their cards read could set down a blanket and enjoy the performances. Photo courtesy of Richard Velazquez | The Poly Post <\/p>\n

\"The <\/a> <\/p>\n

The Sunburn Fest also featured animals, with attendees given the opportunity to pet goats in the center of the farm. Photo courtesy of Richard Velazquez | The Poly Post <\/p>\n

Poetry Peace focuses on creating spaces for people to express themselves through storytelling, poetry and other forms of art. Pluto\u2019s work with writers on zines and magazines gives writers a place to have their work published and\u00a0showcased.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Valerie Laguna, a Cal Poly Pomona\u00a0alumna\u00a0and event coordinator, helped organize the festival\u00a0by\u00a0connecting\u00a0the Lopez Urban Farm coordinators,\u00a0volunteers\u00a0and Pluto\u2019s to make the event\u00a0in Pomona.\u00a0She said her goal\u00a0with the event\u00a0was\u00a0to\u00a0bring creatives together\u00a0to share their crafts and\u00a0build\u00a0community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing creative, I think, feeds the soul for people, whether they are creating themselves or consuming,\u201d Laguna said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Miz\u00a0Mehndi, a henna artist,\u00a0gave guests the opportunity to experience\u00a0and learn about\u00a0henna.\u00a0She explained that henna is a form of temporary body art rather than a tattoo.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The interactions\u00a0between\u00a0vendors\u00a0and\u00a0guests\u00a0created spaces for people to\u00a0learn more\u00a0about\u00a0artists\u2019\u00a0work\u00a0and\u00a0ask\u00a0questions\u00a0while\u00a0experiencing\u00a0different kinds\u00a0of art\u00a0on the farm.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For\u00a0Paula\u00a0Macena,\u00a0the founder and director of Pluto\u2019s,\u00a0participating\u00a0in Sunburnt Fest was\u00a0nostalgic\u00a0because\u00a0Pomona was one of the first places that introduced her to the creative scene in Southern California.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After moving from New Jersey\u00a0to the Redlands,\u00a0Macena said\u00a0she\u2019d\u00a0regularly traveled\u00a0to Pomona for shows and community events because\u00a0of\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0creative community.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a big, artsy\u00a0haven,\u201d Macena said.\u00a0\u201cLike\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0lot of\u00a0cool venues.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0a lot of cool things\u00a0to\u00a0do here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Macena also\u00a0valued the farm as a shared space where artists and guests could create together.\u00a0For more information on upcoming events at Lopez Urban Farm, check out the\u00a0calendar<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Feature photo courtesy of Richard Velazquez<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Sara Gomez, September 15, 2026 Artists and creatives filled Lopez Urban Farm Sept. 5\u00a0with tables\u00a0showcasing\u00a0zines, artwork,\u00a0fashion\u00a0and food\u00a0for\u00a0Sunburnt\u00a0Fest.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-464503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}