Ecology Center Farmer's Market: Salsa Festival

The Farmers Market Salsa Festival at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Park in downtown Berkeley has become an annual go-to event for our East Bay community and beyond. Join us for a day of environmental and cultural experiences with music, dance, and food and beverages being offered all day long.

LIVE MUSIC AND DANCE ALL DAY LONG!

• Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble San Francisco
• Berkeley High School Youth Ensemble
• Afro-Cuban Afro Peruvian jazz keyboardist Erick Peralta with his band
• Grammy Award Winner Christian Pepin y su Orquesta Bembe

In between live music sets, Professional Latin Dancer Rebecca Galindo will perform as well as demonstrate step-by-step how to navigate basic Salsa steps for “crowd” dancing. It won’t be long before you will be moving to the Latin rhythms on your own!

KIDS ECO-ZONE

For the young and young at heart, the Kids Eco-Zone will be filled with fun activities and creative crafts to take home.

• Puppet show with Compton the Compost Pile Ever wonder what it’d be like to talk to a compost pile? Kids had a chance to chat with Compton and learn why composting is important.
• Bubble Blowing with environmentally friendly bubbles and wands and Face Painting with earth friendly paint and designs.
• Take Home Bee Houses with Pollinator Posse and Clay Mask Making with artist Roberta Almerez
• Sing-Alongs and Dancing with Mariella’s Bi-lingual Music Time and Storytime with the Berkeley Public Library.

MOJITOS, NOJITOS, CRAFT BEER, CALIFORNIA CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE WINE

Enjoy a variety of locally-sourced, sustainably-made food and beverages in tandem with the adjacent Farmers’ Market. Freshly made Mojitos and Nojitos will be for sale from female-founded, female-owned Montanya Distillers, with fresh mint and limes sourced from the adjacent Farmers Market. Craft beer and wine will be poured by local sustainable wineries and breweries.

SALSA DEMONSTRATIONS

Local Chefs will demonstrate and sample out their favorite Salsa recipes using fresh ingredients from the Farmers Market. .

FAMILY FUN ACTIVITIES

The Fashion Trashion Selfie Booth is a crowd favorite. Try on “haute couture” made upcycled fashion and take a selfie and send it to friends!

Drum Circle with headliner Grammy Award winning percussionist Christian Pepin as he demonstrates Latin drumming technique and shares the origins of Salsa music from Africa to Cuba and Puerto Rico to the United States.

People Powered Smoothies by using fruit from the Farmers Market and pedaling a bike!

ARTS & CRAFTS

Stroll the park and shop for sustainable jewelry, pottery, textiles and more from local artisans. Watch as artist Judith Shonebaum demonstrates how to make beautiful household items from upcycled materials.