Partnership with Goldenvoice honors the history of Belmar and Black Santa Monica with a free cultural event on Oct. 11

September 30, 2026 5:07 PM

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Sept. 30, 2026) - Historic Belmar Park will come alive with history and culture on Sunday, Oct. 11, as Continuum: Honoring Belmar History & Black Santa Monica brings a free, all-ages celebration with KCRW DJs, live music performances, a vendor village curated by Black Market Flea, discussions with award-winning journalist Sam Sanders and more from noon to 5 p.m.

This free, public cultural activation highlights Santa Monica's little-known history as home to one of the oldest African American settlements in a California seaside community.

Stage highlights and performers include:

• KCRW DJ Tyler "Boogie" Boudreaux is a Los Angeles radio host, producer, organizer and activist who shares electronic jams, psychedelic grooves and club heaters.
• Sam Sanders, an award-winning journalist, podcast creator and host of The Sam Sanders Show, in conversation with historian Alison Rose Jefferson, artist April Banks, archivist Carolyne Edwards of Quinn Research Center and Maurice Harris of Bloom & Plume, discussing Belmar history and Black Santa Monica through a lens of Black joy and preserving legacy.
• Cure For Paranoia, this year's NPR Tiny Desk Winner and project of rapper Cameron McCloud, redefining the boundaries of modern rap with playful and political music.
• Party In My Living Room, an intimate, 90s/00s-inspired house party activation and concert series, presented in collaboration with GV Black. Hosted by PIMLR founder THURZ, alongside critically acclaimed jazz, hip-hop and soul collective Katalyst, the experience positions music as a living archive-honoring the foundations of Black culture while showing how each generation builds on the artistry, history and imagination of those who came before.
• Songs with Strings, led by conductor Vincent Ott and musician Andrew Loper, merges indie artists with classical sounds. Backed by wholesoul, the genre-blending string quartet, founded by professional violist Drew Alexander Forde, plays hip-hop, R&B and contemporary soul music. This special edition of Songs with Strings features performances from Adanna Duru, My Favorite Color, NomBe, Ramir, Robyn L and VANS!

Eventgoers of all ages can also:

• Shop the vendor village curated by Black Market Flea, a dynamic platform and celebration of Black entrepreneurship, culture and expression that promotes equity at the center of its ethos.
• Experience local Santa Monica boutique floral design studio and flower school Viola Floral, hosting a Bloom Bar activity entitled "Give Someone Their Flowers." Participants can create mini bouquets to donate to Santa Monica elders through partners at the local Black seniors group Memories & Movement and Meals on Wheels West, which delivers food to homebound seniors.
• Explore the interpretive historical panels around the park, developed by historian Alison Rose Jefferson, and a monumental red sculpture titled "A Resurrection in Four Stanzas" by artist April Banks.
• Enjoy art-making that celebrates Belmar History + Art, plus a photography and multimedia installation that features archival images and works from Quinn Research Center, Santa Monica Conservancy and ZEAL, a worker-owned creative arts and social impact studio cooperative centered on building cultural equity across the Black diaspora.

Produced by Go As If Productions, Continuum is made possible as part of the 2026 Ocean Way Festival community benefits package developed with the city and the California Coastal Commission, and is in partnership with GV Black, an employee-led initiative within Goldenvoice created to highlight and support Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) voices and drive racial justice in event production. The Ocean Way Festival is scheduled to return to Santa Monica in 2027.

For more information, visit santamonica.gov.

Media Contact

Tati Simonian
Public Information Officer
[email protected]

Categories

Arts, Culture & Fun, City Parks, Community Events, Historic Preservation, Places To Visit, Programs, The Arts

Departments

City Manager's Office, Recreation and Arts