THE MUSIC CENTER’S VERY SPECIAL ARTS FESTIVAL: FAMILY DAY Set For May

Offering unique opportunities to Angelenos of all abilities for creative expression paired with scientific exploration, The Music Center invites parents, youth and community members to The Music Center’s Very Special Arts Festival: Family Day on Saturday, May 3, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center. The free half-day festival is an expansion of The Music Center’s longstanding Very Special Arts Festival, which has been entertaining and inspiring school groups from throughout Los Angeles County for more than 45 years.

Guests will enjoy dozens of activities, including dance performances, Taiko drumming lessons, art-making workshops and more. The theme of this year’s festival “Arts & Science Unite!” sets the tone for all Angelenos to discover and express their creative potential in the heart of Downtown L.A. as the arts meets the world of the sciences. For example, participants will discover why oil and water do not mix and, yet, be able to create beautiful colorful masterpieces by blending the two ingredients (oil pastels and watercolor paint). In another workshop, participants will learn how to create a scientific instrument that shows how colors appear and change when they interact with sunlight.

“The Music Center’s Very Special Arts Festival: Family Day is a wonderful opportunity for families to experience the joy of the arts. Through inspiring dance performances, hands-on activities and interactive science explorations, the Very Special Arts Festival: Family Day will provide a welcoming, inclusive space for Angelenos to connect, learn, express themselves and share meaningful experiences,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “Let’s create, perform and embrace the artist in all of us as we come together, as a community, through the arts!”

Scheduled performers for The Music Center’s Very Special Arts Festival: Family Day include:

• AbilityFirst
• Ballet Folclorico do Brasil
• Down for Dance
• Free 2 Be Me Dance
• Illusions by Allen
• Korean Classical Music & Dance
• Little Tokyo Service Center
• The Miracle Project
• Sri Lanka Foundation
• Straight Up Abilities

On Friday, May 2, 2025, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (the day before The Music Center’s Very Special Arts Festival: Family Day), thousands of local students will converge on Jerry Moss Plaza to participate in The Music Center’s 46th Annual Very Special Arts Festival, which is exclusively geared to students of all abilities. Presented in partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the Very Special Arts Festival is open to all grade levels and offers students the exciting opportunity to perform in front of an audience, showcase their artwork and enjoy hands-on artmaking, among other activities. The student-focused festival on Friday is part of The Music Center’s enduring multi-faceted arts learning program that serves more than 150,000 students and educators annually throughout Los Angeles County.

Both The Music Center’s Very Special Arts Festival: Family Day and The Music Center’s 46th Annual Very Special Arts Festival will be hosted by actor David Prather and mezzo-soprano opera singer Suzanna Guzmán. The Music Center will provide an ASL interpreter on both days.

“The arts have the power to move, heal and inspire,” said TMC Arts’ Associate Vice President of Education Keith Wyffels. “The Music Center’s Very Special Arts Festival: Family Day is designed for all generations to enjoy and expand their artistic horizons. We hope our one-day outdoor festival will provide families with joy and help them create wonderful new memories!”

Families seeking more fun and free adventures in Downtown L.A. are encouraged to walk over to Gloria Molina Grand Park, located directly across the street from Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center, for LAUSD Arts Fest 2025. A district-wide festival for all of Los Angeles Unified School District, Arts Fest will showcase student talent through performances, art displays and interactive activities in dance, music, theatre, visual arts and film/media, from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The Music Center’s 46th Annual Very Special Arts Festival and The Music Center’s Very Special Arts Festival: Family Day are made possible by generous support from Mimi Song; LSMK Investments; Margaret Sheehy Collins; Ring-Miscikowski Foundation/The Ring Foundation; Moss Foundation; The Robert Nelson Foundation; and the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles.

To RSVP for the festival’s Family Day, visit musiccenter.org/familyday.