Who says the west is the best? Community celebrates 7th annual East Bakersfield Festival
A slight break in the city’s heat wave made for fair conditions Saturday at Jefferson Park, where organizers hosted the annual East Bakersfield Festival.
Since it began in 2015, the festival has been a yearly “love letter to the community,” said Natasha Felkins, who co-chairs the East Bakersfield Festival committee. And that letter reads: “That we see you, we recognize that things are challenging right now,” Felkins said. “So here’s something in your community that you can make a good day and some positive memories out of.”
The free, daylong event featured arts, crafts, music and foods of East Bakersfield. It was the latest community event sponsored by the nonprofit Children First, which is geared toward providing health and wellness to kids.
“We’re trying to offer as many different aspects of east Bakersfield culture as possible,” said Felkins, who is also chairwoman of Children First.
Although there was plenty of elbow room, organizers estimated at least 1,200 people — most of whom are fellow east-siders living within a mile radius — jostled about the park Saturday.
Festivalgoers bopped and swayed to the sounds of jazz, swing, rhythm and blues, pop, rock, and Latin tunes. At the central stage, a crowd watched in awe as young dancers, dressed in sombreros and boots or dresses, tapped and stomped in a performance of traditional folklórico dance.
There were also 15 food booths or trucks, which include Get It Twisted, Krazed Food Truck and Desserts, and Hila's Aguas. In an area designated for children’s activities, dozens of youngsters created “snot” putty or painted their faces, while adults bagged mushroom-growing kits.
Between the chowing and twisting, many of the tents offered health care services or informational guides to programs in the area. Many residents left stuffed at the elbows with pamphlets and giveaways. This was by design, Felkins said, as the event has placed a strong emphasis on health and wellness.
The festival also had a fleet of vintage automobiles — 1940s- and ’50s-era coupes and convertibles, many of which were brought out by the Cruizin Oldies car club.
Pablo Sanchez, of the car club, said he rarely attends an event like this without offers made by passersby willing to pay premium prices for their vehicles. Offers are prefaced by stories: It was their marriage-carriage; they used to own a Matchbox version as a child; their grandfather drove one. Sanchez turns them down all the same.
He instead plans to give away his coupe to his 16-year-old grandson.
“I told him, 'It’s yours once I can’t drive it no more,'” Sanchez said, adding he has no idea when that will be, to his grandson’s irritation.
City Councilman Andrae Gonzales, whose ward incorporates much of east Bakersfield, said these events are vital to reshape the narrative around the neighborhood and Jefferson Park. Because it should be a source of pride to come from this neighborhood, he said.
Too many historic neighborhoods like this one fall into decline, Gonzales said, inviting crime and delinquency where community is meant to otherwise prosper.
“These are going to be core memories for lots and lots of families,” Gonzales said. “And that’s why this event is so important. It’s about redefining for ourselves what this park is about.”
