by Elizabeth Manson
photos by Bona Hong

“What’s the difference between a festival and a rave? The sun.”

Such wisdom was spouted from mouth of one of the musical acts that graced the Santa Monica Stage during the rockin’, food truck-filled festival that was the Silver Lake Jubilee, held May 22nd and 23rd.

I admit that I was very excited for this event. With three stages featuring musical and theatrical performances, an eco-friendly vibe, arts and literature “villages”, and more food trucks than the food truck festival (which I can’t believe I missed), how could a girl go wrong?

I couldn’t.

Let’s get down to the basics: the festival was loosely divided into four “villages”—five if you count the two Beer Gardens, but those are more akin to oases than villages. The Eco-village was home to informational booths and various environmentally-themed exhibits, like the booth hosted by the group Fallen Fruit, which maps food trees that are grown on public spaces, who provided us with free “found” loquats. The Arts Village displayed the union of artists and publishers by means of a colorful zine haven. The Literary Village brought together comic nerds and bibliophiles to celebrate the written word in all its incarnations. Lastly, the Children’s Village was the place where children could have educational fun, and I think finger paint was involved.

But the good time doesn’t end there. The four villages were connected by a veritable caravan of gourmet food trucks, and sidled in between the mobile food dispensaries were sundry stands of artists selling their creations, personal trainers trying to dole out discounts (setting up next to the Flying Pig food truck was a good way to attract the recently stuffed and shamed), sponsors handing out free swag, and haberdashers selling pretentious, albeit cool, sunglasses and ties. And all of this was bookended by two large stages with ongoing musical acts.

With all this stimuli, it’s hard to believe that the best part of the Silver Lake Jubilee was the laid-back atmosphere; you could grab something from a food truck, park yourself on a curb, and just people-watch. Turns out, if you people-watch at the Jubilee, you’ll see a lot of yippies (a neologism for “yuppie hippie” created by me and my photographer companion) and a few dudes who look like Jesus.

In all, the festival met all of my requirements for a good time: Access to good food and alcohol? Check. Access to arts and literature (food for the brain)? Check. Free stuff? Check. Good music? Check.

So when the Silver Lake Jubilee rolls around next year, be sure to bring your eco-friendly water bottle (no plastic, kids), fill it with filtered fire hydrant water, grab yourself a free silk-screened tee-shirt (courtesy of Family Industries L.A. and Brand X), relax, and enjoy the show.

Quick View:
WHAT: Silver Lake Jubilee
WHERE: Myra Ave. in Silver Lake (between Santa Monica Blvd. and Fountain Ave.)
WHEN: May 22-23, 10AM-10PM.
WEBSITE: http://silverlakejubilee.com/