TarFest Music Festival October 3, 2008

TarFest is a festival of emerging film, music and art held annually since 2003 at the La Brea Tar Pits and the surrounding Museum Row in the historic Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles.

This popular festival presents an opportunity for artists in Los Angeles to gain creative exposure in the geographical and cultural center of the city for the benefit of public enrichment. A three-day indoor/outdoor multi-venue festival, TarFest features concerts, film screenings, arts workshops, installations, sculptures, paintings, drawings, photography, mixed media, and informational lectures.

The diverse programming appeals to all types of people at all levels, encouraging Los Angelenos to explore excellent, unique forms of expression and aesthetics in the heart of the city.

Friday, October 3: Art Show

The festival kicks off Friday, October 3, 2008, with an art exhibition, juried by Howard Fox, Curator of Contemporary Art and Senior Curatorial Fellow at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The opening reception will be held at the Korean Cultural Center at 5505 Wilshire Blvd. and starts at 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 4: Film Festival

On Saturday, TarFest continues with the TarFest Film Festival. The festival will feature cutting-edge filmmakers and will showcase Los Angeles’s emerging music video and short film scene with no film running longer than five minutes. The screening will be held from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in the screening room of the Korean Cultural Center and will include two one hour blocks of programming. The first block will feature music videos and the second block will feature short "SHORTS" of five minutes or less.

Saturday, October 4: Music Festival

After the film screening, the El Rey Theatre at 5515 Wilshire Blvd., will host the TarFest Music Programwhich will include local musical artists as well as a special guest appearance by international art star and DJ Shepard Fairey. Admission to the theatre is $10, and guests must be 21 years old to attend. The doors will open at 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 5: Miracle Mile Run

The final day of the festival will begin at 9:00 a.m. on October 5, 2008, with the inaugural Miracle Mile Run. The event is a one-mile run that starts at Wilshire and Sycamore and ends on Wilshire in front of Chris Burden’s “Urban Light” installation at LACMA. The run is open to the public and has eight age divisions— free fun run for youths 10 or younger; one-mile run for youth, ages 11-13 and high school; and one mile for adults, ages 19-29, ages 30-39, ages 40-49, ages 50-59, and age 60 or older. Entry fees are $10 for adults 19 or older, $5 for youth ages 11-18, and free for kids 10 or younger. All participants will receive a free event t-shirt, and awards and prizes from Nike will be presented to the top three runners in each division.

TarFest is presented annually by the Miracle Mile Players and is supported by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and LACMA. Financial support is provided by numerous Miracle Mile District businesses and property owners, including BRE Properties and The Grove. Proceeds from the sixth annual TarFest will benefit LACMA’s Next Gen program, LAPD Wilshire Division Explorers and Fairfax High School.

For more information about TarFest, visit www.tarfest.com

Official Website: http://www.tarfest.com