Glow Festival to illuminate Santa Monica pier dusk-til-dawn, July 19-20
How’s this for a “staycation”? Bring your sleeping bag and a pillow to this party, where you’ll get a dusk-til-dawn sensory experience filled with eye and ear candy. This weekend, the much-anticipated Glow Festival will take over Santa Monica Pier (as well as a few other nearby locations), entertaining guests with contemporary art installations, mixed media and music. See a write-up in The Guide.
When: The festival kicks off at 7 p.m. on Saturday night, July 19, and goes through 7 a.m. on Sunday morning, July 20, 2008.
Why Go: You love dancing under the stars. You love innovative art. You love new experiences. It’s been ages since you’ve seen the sunrise. It’s free. I didn’t mention that yet, did I? Admission doesn’t cost a dime, so come and go as you please, at whatever time suits you.
Why Not: There aren’t many reasons to skip it. If you’re worried about sleep, do as the event organizers suggest and bring your sleeping bag. Bring earplugs too. There is supposed to be space for crashers.
Contact: City of Santa Monica, (310) 458-8350
— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times
[Photo: Artist Freya Bardell prepares for the Glow Festival; Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times]
32 Comments on “Glow Festival to illuminate Santa Monica pier dusk-til-dawn, July 19-20”
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July 18th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Sounds ghastly -some kind of 60’s ‘happening’ for the great unwashed.
July 18th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
I’ve been to Nuit Blanche in Paris, which this is based off of, and it was amazing. I’m also a big fan of Usman Haque and looking forward to his installation.
Larry - glad buzz kills like you won’t be there.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:27 am
OK Larry, stay in your box or cave or where you crawl up for the night. We’ll spend it in the open under the stars enjoying some human creativity and compnay.
July 19th, 2008 at 3:26 am
i’m going with a group of my friends. we’re all psyched for it.
oh, and larry, you’re right. if i were you i would stay home, but i imagine that’s mostly what you do anyway.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:38 am
“Sounds ghastly -some kind of 60’s ‘happening’ for the great unwashed.”
Its good people like this wont be there:)
My clean smiling face will be!
July 19th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Hi, Don, wish you were here. Already having a great time. Viceroy Hotel could not be a better place. Will take pictures for you of all the bikini-girls. See you on Sunday.
July 19th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Geez, what a dick.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
At the glow festival, tonight, I was just there, 9:30PM.It is VERY crowded. Forget walking around easily. Good luck trying to meet a friend. The cars are backed up for miles. Too bad.
July 20th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Too bad all these people are wasting their time tonight. I on the other hand went to Shepherd’s Gate Church, where I encountered the Holy Spirit, saw the power of the Creator of this Universe heal and fill people with His glory! Certainly ONE MILLION TIMES BETTER than watching things glow! I got to encounter the Creator and HIS PRESENCE made me GLOW! Not some manmade contraption!
July 20th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Patricia, your ridiculous.
hands down. sorry.
I am a believer, but it is people with comments like yours that makes other people sit back and laugh at how CHEESY and retarded that sounds.
Maybe instead of being comfortable at your church you should have been out interacting with everyone setting a good example? Aren’t you supposed to be striving to be like Christ? Would he probably be sitting back in a church singing or would he be out with all these “sinners”? ha ha. You should delete that comment, and go out and have some good clean fun.
cheers,
Sean
July 20th, 2008 at 8:09 am
What a wonderful time we had last night. There were grunion running promptly appearing as promised starting slowly @ 10:30 p.m. By 1:30 they were in frenzy, as were the folks watching. The people were happy & gracious. Perfect night to enjoy perfect weather on Santa Monica’s perfect pier. Can’t wait for GLOW II.
Thank you Santa Monica & KCRW!
July 20th, 2008 at 9:21 am
What a disappointment. It looked like a middle school fair. One ‘exhibit’ called Nocturnal Department or some such thing was a ratty map taped to a backboard with little pins in the map showing where such exciting sightings of rats, ‘coons, deer, etc. had been reported. Go to any other beach town in any other country and you’ll encounter lively open markets, music, and entertainment almost nightly. Santa Monica’s idea of entertainment is quite sad. A few ridiculous haphazard exhibits once a year? Nice.
July 20th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Party people everywhere and not a beat to dance to. Some of the installations were cool but they failed to match the scale of the inordinate crowds. Even at 4am the streets were packed, no music to create a focus of interest and lots of of people hunting around for some fun.
I do imagine the spectacle of the crowds from an Ocean avenue balcony had some appeal but I didn’t get that invite.
Now are we sure this wasn’t all a ploy to boost parking ticket revenues?
July 20th, 2008 at 11:49 am
it was kinda a waste. pretty much boring. shoulda stayed home, really.
July 20th, 2008 at 11:51 am
there should be LOTS more installments. then it wouldn’t be so boring.
July 20th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Glow: the word is MEAGER
While the city of Santa Monica should be congratulated for embarking on a very cool sounding event, reading the “artspeak” on the Glow website gave me a premonition. At least 100,000 people trusted Santa Monica’s hype and showed up at the beach in the middle of the night.
Except for the beauty of the ocean, and the evening, they were sorely disappointed. Not only was the number of offerings meager, but the artists’ imaginations were more meager. Art by city commission–where only politics prevails. I shudder to think of the hundreds of real artists whose submissions were turned down. It’s going to be tough for Santa Monica to regain public trust for another “art happening”.
July 20th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Incredibly crowded, impossible to find parking, and hugely underwhelming once you get past those.
If you missed the “Skyglow” installment, you missed the only thing worth seeing. Although… it was definitely worth seeing - video of LA, from the air, projected onto a large ceiling. Amazingly relaxing. There was a community-driven glowstick exhibit on the beach, which was supposedly pretty interesting. It was also gone by 10PM.
July 20th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Looks like Larry was right after all.
July 20th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
It was really one of the saddest things I’ve ever been a part of in Los Angeles. I love this city, but, wow, we suck for nightlife. Any possible reason they couldn’t have a dj set going continuously? Or any music at all? Or more than 3 mediocre exhibits with round-the-block lines? Or, I don’t know, like, a lot of glowing things? I was so excited for this event, it sounded so cool, and it turned out to be one of the worst things I’ve ever done.
Oh and ps I waited for the shuttle bus from venice in both directions for 45 minutes and it never ever came. Good work, folks.
July 20th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
A real disappointment. Art exhibits were few, and spread out over a wide area. Music didn’t play all night as advertised - it stopped around 2am or so and the whole festival lost its center. Unless you threw your own party on the beach there was little to do besides the usual pier attractions just a lot more crowded than usual. The water fountain video art was cool. Police cleared the pier for a bit round 3am, then let people back on it (too many people they said). It was basically a giant, well behaved mob descending on downtown/beach trying to figure out what to do. I really hope they get their act together and do it right next year.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:23 am
I don’t know what all of the above people are talking about, I personally had a great time. It’s amazing how many people would rather focus on the small imperfections the night had then enjoy a free outing, and a excuse for a huge gathering of the extended Los Angeles community in one place.
Sure, the art work was not the most amazing I have encountered, but it was enjoyable and much more gratifying then a night spent at home (and this comes from a person with a fairly active night life.)
While there were things that could be improved upon, I had a pretty good time . I suppose its what you make of it, and perhaps who you spend your time with that makes it all worth while.
As for the parking I suggest either arriving early or (gasp) maybe parking a distance and walking - that is if you (gasp) ca actually enjoy a warm ocean breeze and the beauty of the beach at night.
July 21st, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Glow was glorious! I LOVED every single second of that fantastic evening. Here’s my off the cuff breakdown on what i did, and why it was so cool:
I went around with three prancing pony friends who totally come to life in places rife with adventure, mystery and mirth. Artist/actor/ writer/film-heads on the loose… GLOW is totally up our playground alley!!
Lessee.. first we hooked up on the swelling dance floor to tasty drum and bass, and off we went to see the flowy, glowy sea creature art under the pier. It was soo magical and glorious; we were completely entranced by the electric jellyfish tendrils dangling from the dark pirate ship rafters.
The grunion run on the beach was the highlight of the night for me. It was soo awesome seeing that athletic, silvery fight for life as those brave little beings washed up on shore (right near the people gawking with flashlights, tho resepcting the safety tape keeping the fish safe from overexcited observers). Those little buggers got jiggy in their makeshift sand hotel, then the lady fish plowed down into the sand and laid her eggs before wiggling her tail and shooting straight up into the air to flop back to the receeding waterline. It was amazing! We felt so lucky that that the grunion run was happening the same night as GLOW! *Serendipity was truly in the air all night and magic around every corner.*
Running into friends all night and exclaiming about everything happening around us was also a big part of the organic unfolding evening. (texting was an easy way to hook up and communicate with friends. different ways to get up, down and around also helped to avoid the glut of people on the stairs.) Still, everyone was seemd so playful and fun all night, that even the crowds were not that bothersome- I liked seeing everyone out playing and discovering new things.
When we rode the carosel (again, free!!) accompanied by the haunted whale sounds & live ambient music taking shape by an onsight dj, the evening went to a new level. round and round, the lights twinkling overhead ina slow mo speed~ really dreamy and beautiful.
thirsty? no problem, charming happy girls were handing out free organic low-sugar teas to quench our pipes and to keep awake!
next stop, a ))fairy wing booth(( where gorgeous goddeses were helping new little fairies find their wings… gossamer-like, nylon-pleated, wing-shaped fabric attached to a costume-jeweled choker turned a casual passerby into an instant earth sprite! it was soo pretty!
all these ladies were softly flapping their wings to figure out how they worked, and within minutes were flying and dancing and smiling around the booth as a nearby ambient music sourced pumped soul beats into the night. men were stopped in their tracks. other girls looked on with round cheeks and shiny eyes. amazing.
such a generous festival– all this free, experential stuff to ignite the playful mischief maker and inventive sparkler within.
after that my friends and i found dozens of bikes that were just waiting to have all their bells rung in symphonic rhythm, and oh! more dancing happened in there sometime again as well. dancing near well put-together girls going crazy with nighttime glee as two topless men replete with tattoos and a pacifier showed off their glowstick routines.. it was sooo fun!! when the mignight madness ‘crank mob’ of cyclists stormed the festival and drew traffic to a halt (HUNDREDS of bikes!), we were so thrilled. it was really really amazing to see our streets and beach cliffs overrun with free spirits.
again, my night’s success had a lot to do with my up for anything friends, the fact i did not for one second deal with cars or traffic and perhaps because i was sober. i was not thrown into whacked out energy orbits that were yes, streaming by in a million different frequencies in a million different directions.
i believe you pretty much get out of a/the night what you bring to it. and unusual art happenings and experential artistic gestures are totally up my alley. had i walked with my three friends to a 10 year anniversary party of the city’s largest and most popular sports bar, my night would have probably been beached quite quickly.
GLOW wasn’t probably for everyone.. but it was for me and a lot of the other happy revelers i interacted with from 10 pm-1:30 am. I can’t speak of course for the hundreds that were still streaming in as i left!!
one of the other things i liked about GLOW was the preamble beforehand. EVERYONE was talking about it as something to check out: neighbors, friends, people in cafes. that electric air before the storm carnival atmosphere in santa monica was really refreshing.
oh yes, and the other major factor that was super duper about GLOW was that it was so racially diverse. new york people and burning man vibes in the santa monica landscape: HEAVEN!!
when i first heard of glow, i thought it was a makeup convention or the new mariah carey cd (seriously, the pink lowercase font confused me into thinking it was some kinda femmme-pop thing. but god bless make up and mariah, i just wouldn’t make a whole night of either.)
thank goodness it turned out to be my absolute favorite night in santa monica in the 3.5 years i have lived here!
come back, glow, come back! i really hope you do.
glimmering and glowing still,
mara
July 21st, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Very disappointing. As I walked to the end of the pier, I was thinking, “ok, I must be missing something, wehre is all these art exhibits?” I’d heard that there were supposed to be glowing art floating in the water, but all I saw is one object lit up in the water by itself and at night, it just looked like a jumble of led lights floating. DJ Garth Trinidad never disappoints as far as music goes so no issues there. It was extremely crowded and beyond the DJ/dance area, I didn’t see anything on the pier that would distinguish it from any other night, except for Mardi Gras type crowds. In fact I’d say the people were the main reason to go. Everybody was out and about and in a festive mood, and that’s something you almost never see in L.A. Unlike many coastal cities around the world like Miami or Honolulu for example that have great weather and nightlife by the beach, L.A.’s beach scene is DEAD once the sun dips below the water. Everyone seemingly rents a movie and stays home after dark. But it was nice to see Angelinos partying on the beach at night. Finally! So maybe this event will become better, and Angelinos will start to demand that we take advantage of our great weather and beaches and not all go home after the sun goes down.
July 21st, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Unfortunately I learned upon my arrival, like a nut, at 3:30am or so that the crowds got so large on the pier where the music was, and unfortunately some bad seeds fighting, hopping fences (all learned when I queried one of the badged workers) that the SM Police stopped the music. Too bad I didn’t go earlier but needed a nap. But it was nice to be out and about, at the beach at a crazy hour, seeing some fun art and folks-a bit ravey, mini burning man, but hey what the heck-the great unwashed can be pretty fun and happy at times!
I hope SM figures out how to make it work better next year but I suspect this oh, so perfect city will be too timid to try it gain. But please try!
July 21st, 2008 at 8:42 pm
P.S. A friend just reflected back to me about my experience at GLOW. She said it sounded like I was one of the participants.. which of course my friends and I were! I forgot the oh so obvious about carnivals like this: when you engage instead of merely observe, you become part of the creation of the event; you’re not outside of it looking in (and possibly feeling like you’re missing out)!
Having been to a few outdoor fests along the lines of GLOW, I arrived Sat night dressed a little bit in costume and armed with an intention to interact with the people around me like kids in a sandbox. Not everyone needs to do as I of course, but I think things like this shine a lot more with an attitude not so much of ‘what will it give me’ but more like, ‘what can i bring to it, and let’s see what we come up with together.’
On a supportive note: Santa Monica does need to block the streets off several blocks before the cliffs and get a very organized shuttle system. also, the art exhibits would have been a lot cooler had there been double or triple the amount there.
(still the moon shadow puppetry and the nocturnal animal sightings booth were interesting and theatrical in a way unlike anything i’ve expereinced. my friend also swung high on a trapeze at one point and told me there was an entire orchestra on the ferris wheel before i go there, each car holding different instruments– how cool is that!? a spinning symphony!
So much of the pleasure of these festivals is the interaction with the curious and playful people going from site to site.. so more art = more to do and see and would also keep the flow of people moving instead of everyone being stuck in funnel cake lines. :) Hearing that the tunes got shut down at 2 am is depressing, too!
I really hope GLOW comes back with WAAAAAY more art, something happening out in/under/over the water and a very organized shuttle system. I wish, too, that all the participants (aka visitors:) arrive in some festive-wear and that some too, offer an experential art or activity of their own making with which to bedazzle passer-bys. Even if it’s just bubbles! And may we all come to play with the community swirling around us- there’s no shortage of creative types in LA and I’m happy to be a part of it. Go, GLOW, go!
July 21st, 2008 at 8:49 pm
P.S. A friend just reflected back to me about my experience at GLOW. She said it sounded like I was one of the participants.. which I realized that my friends and I were! I forgot the oh so obvious about carnivals like this: when you engage instead of merely observe, you become part of the creation of the event; you’re not outside of it looking in (and possibly feeling like you’re missing out).
Having been to a few outdoor fests along the lines of GLOW, I arrived Sat night dressed a little bit in costume and armed with an intention to interact with the people around me like kids in a sandbox. Not everyone needs to do as I, of course. I do think things like this shine a lot more with a crowds’ attitude that’s not so much ‘what will this event give me’ but more, ‘what can i bring to it?’ and let’s see what we come up with!’
On a supportive notes tip: Santa Monica does need to block the streets off several blocks before the cliffs and get a very organized shuttle system. Also, the art exhibits would have been a lot cooler had there been double or triple the amount there.
Still the moon shadow puppetry and the nocturnal animal sightings booth were interesting and theatrical in a way unlike anything i’ve experienced before. the reminders of our precious natural wild life locally and WITHIN was my favorite theme of the night. (i know that can sound cheesy but imagination has to be preserved and fed- daily)!
my friend also swung high on a trapeze at one point, and told me there was an entire orchestra on the ferris wheel before i got there, each car holding different instruments– how cool is that!? a spinning symphony!
So much of the pleasure of these festivals is the interaction with the curious and fun people going from site to site. More art = More to do & see. More exhibits and foot-traveling would keep the flow of people moving instead of everyone being stuck in funnel cake lines. :) Hearing that the tunes got shut down at 2 am was depressing, too!?
I really hope GLOW comes back with WAAAAY more art, something happening out in/under/over the water and a very organized shuttle system. I wish, too, that more participants (aka visitors:) arrive in some alternative festive-wear and that some, too, offer an experential art or activity of their own making with which to bedazzle passer-bys. Even if it’s just bubbles! And may we all arrive open to playing with the community swirling around us- there’s no shortage of creative types in LA and I’m happy to be a part of it. Glow, GLOW, glow!
July 21st, 2008 at 10:21 pm
There was a particular grunion who caught my eye as she shimmered and swayed in the maglite. I watched her until my heart could bear no more. With my nose close to the wafting-wet, I bellied-up to the sand-bar to ask her name. But before I could get a word out, she flinched and jerked with all her might (and probably a few mites) and caught the next wave home.
I hear that grunion eggs glow. Now I know the way to my heart’s content: I’ll follow the glow.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I love you Mara! You da best. Loved Susan’s write up too– so catchy & concise. Say, you’re not a former guidebook writer, are you? Well, you sold me. I’d head down to LA just for GLOW!
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I had no idea how many people were there. I have heard over two hundred thousand. I thought that steep, but then I was supposed to meet up with about ten to fifteen people. I heard from the 405 on the Ten freeway was a line of cars to get to get off in Santa Monica. When I got off it was backed up to 20th/cloverfield. I ended up parking on Ocean Park and cabbing it in, the chaos was pretty crazy and I had never seen so many cars in or around Santa Monica Venice before.
My friend and I made it there without too much hassle, but the amount of people created an odd energy at first, when we were trying to see the art, but then we relaxed, found our friends (the ones with the silky gossamer angel wings) and sat back to listen to Elian play his guitar and sing to his own beat. As he played his Argentinian style music (think Manu chao) the beats made us smile, dance and play much easier than pushing through those massive crowds. The smiles brought forth by Kat and Durian, who let countless people, men and women alike, put on those angel wings and dance and spritefully flutter about made the entire evening worth it. Even though I did not get to hang with all the friends that were planning on being there, or those that did that could not find me, or want to deal with the massive crowds… I still found a beautiful space to play and enjoy the crowds from a far.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:39 am
This was a horribly thrown together event that didn’t come close to all the hype it generated. The city spent over $300,000 on this event. The organizers owe everyone an apology!
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 pm
You know exactly what this event was? Remember high school prom and all the cool kids got a hotel room and you weren’t invited but the PTA and your school teachers put on the post prom party in the school gymnasium. Yeah its kinda just like that.
July 27th, 2008 at 5:54 am
I don’t mind wandering around aimlessly on a balmy night, but please do not promote it like it was some big artistic expression.
It felt like a hoax.