Here in the States, summer is defined by two national holidays. Between the last weekend of May and Memorial Day to the first Monday of September with its Labor Day observance is when Americans know that it is time to go to the beach, moisturize and grill meat outside. 

I more or less respect these traditions, but I always use the weekend before Memorial Day and the Doheny Blues Festival and the San Diego Blues Festival on the second weekend of September as my summer bookends. I suggest you try it as well. The advantages are obvious, as you get two extra weeks of summer. Additionally, as if that weren’t enough, you get to attend two of the great destinations on the west coast and you also get to celebrate America’s greatest cultural gift to the world, the blues, while you’re there.

September 7th marks this year’s date for the San Diego Blues Festival.  Not only is there another great line-up put together by festival producer Michael Kinsman, but attendees get to do something else…help your fellow man.

The Cause

Once again, the benefactors of this wonderful event are the good folks at the Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank. The Food Bank distributed more than 22 million pounds of food through 346 community organizations (social service agencies, churches, senior centers, military agencies) in 2016. About one-third of that was fresh produce.

Each month, the Food Bank provides service to 370,000 food-insecure people in San Diego County.  That includes 1,600 low-income kids at elementary schools who get a backpack of food each weekend.

It also includes a box of food to 8,400 low-income seniors each month. The San Diego Food Bank also serves 28,000 military and military dependents each year.

This festival, now in its ninth year, has raised $585,000 for the Food Bank. It also collected 24,000 pounds of food at the event. It has been an honor and a privilege for BLUES JUNCTION Productions to be associated with this annual event.

The Venue

The entire event is held at the Embarcadero Marina Park North on the downtown waterfront. It is a delightful park nestled between a small yacht harbor and the San Diego Bay. It is also adjacent to the Shoreline Village shopping and dining area as well as several first-rate hotels. With the bay, the downtown skyline and the Coronado Bridge as a backdrop a more scenic venue is hard to imagine. This combined with San Diego’s perpetually agreeable climate makes for a wonderful festival experience.

I look forward to reuniting with my San Diego Blues family at the 2019 edition of the San Diego Blues Festival. Here is a link for detailed information and tickets as well as the full roster of artists, including bios, performance schedules and any/all details regarding this annual event.

https://www.sdbluesfest.com/

- David Mac