A Celebration of Local Musicians and Artists
As you may have gleaned by now, the most anticipated facet of Sunfest 2024 for us was the return of the Creative Arts Village and the introduction of the Sandbar Stage. No offense to Yung Gravy fans.
The Creative Arts Village was teeming with displays of all different media. From recycled plastic being made into home décor, hand-thrown pottery, to permanent jewelry, it more-closely resembled an interactive artistic journey, rather than a silent gallery exhibit. One of the coolest parts was the opportunity to observe the creative processes of so many different artists. There were multiple live murals by spray-paint artists like Bulk Styles (@bulk_styles) and Sergio Arce (@registered_artist). Live painting also took place on more practical sized canvases —relatively — by artists like Emo (@emo_561) and Phil Fung (@painterphil).
Across the street at the Sandbar Stage, South Florida local jammers took the stage — for many of which it was their first time playing a festival. We got country drawls from Jutt Huffman (@jutthuffman) and Brett Staska & The Souvenirs (@brettstaska), jazz from the John I. Leonard High School Jazz Band and the West Boca High School Jazz Band, and gritty rock from Disbarred (@disbarred_band) and Shaw Davis & the Black Ties (@shawdavisblackties).
The Killbillies (@killbilliesfl), who have been playing in South Florida for over a decade, landed a slot on the Ford Stage on Saturday afternoon. The trio’s bluegrass/folk sound was a complement to the blistering Florida day. Rebelution (@rebelutionmusic) rounded out the weekend and closed out the Ford Stage with a full crowd on Sunday evening.
Some of our favorite restaurants were also in attendance. You could practically smell Tropical Smokehouse’s (@tropical_smokehouse) barbecue from any of the stages. In a good way. Ela Curry & Cocktails (@elacurryandcocktails) also wowed with a special Sunfest menu and we found out Coolinary (@eat.coolinary) is just as good when eaten out of a paper, to-go container.
Sunfest 2024 was another resounding success, and we can only hope that next year will continue the fun in the sun.
