Culver City's Arts Fest is coming back for its eighth year on Saturday, October 10, 2026, transforming Washington Boulevard between Helms Avenue and La Cienega Avenue into a free, all-ages block party running from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Organizers expect thousands of attendees for a day packed with gallery exhibitions, live art-making, food trucks, and two full music stages.
The event, formerly known as Culver City Art Walk & Roll, is set within the Culver City Arts District, according to Secret Los Angeles. Recent single-day editions of the festival have drawn upwards of 15,000 attendees to the district, per the Culver City Arts District, reflecting how far the event has grown since its gallery-walk origins.
Two Stages, a Beer Garden, and a Global Arts Corner
Music is central to this year's lineup, with the McManus Stage featuring acts including Top Shelf Brass Band, The Front Yard, The Jumps, Alligator Beach, Sadubas, Fairfax Station, DJ E-Rock the Eclectic, and The Rusties. Over on the Cattaraugus Stage, festivalgoers can catch Double Batch Daddy, The Beat Buds, Tuesday Stella, School of Rock, Amazing Kids, and the AVPA Jazz Combo, the same report notes.
Beyond the music, the festival includes beer gardens, artisan vendors, family-friendly activities, and an International Arts Zone offering artistic traditions and cultures from around the world. The district's national profile isn't new — it was named one of the top 10 best arts districts in the country in USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice contest, according to Americans for the Arts.
Grants Help Local Artists Show Up and Show Off
Participation isn't just open — it's subsidized. For this year's festival, the Culver City Arts Foundation created a juried selection process offering a $5,000 Live Mural Demonstration grant alongside Artist Booth Grants that provide complimentary booth space and a $100 stipend to participating creators. The setup is designed to lower financial barriers for emerging local artists looking to show their work alongside the district's established galleries.
That kind of support extends beyond the festival itself. Culver City awarded $200,518 across 26 non-profit organizations through its 2026 Performing Arts Grant Program, according to the City of Culver City. The program has funded local music, dance, and theater projects since 1994.
A Landmark Campus Anchors the Corridor
The festival's stretch of Washington Boulevard runs through the heart of the arts district, with the Helms Design District campus along the corridor. The campus includes showrooms, exhibitions, markets, screenings, music, and family activities, according to the Helms Design District.
Getting there doesn't require a car: the district formally spans Washington Boulevard between National and Fairfax Avenues, per the Culver City Arts District.
A Six-Day Warm-Up Fundraiser and a Longer-Term Cultural Push
A Tito's Fiesta Mexicana fundraiser is listed for October 4, according to the City of Culver City.
The festival also arrives as Culver City's Cultural Affairs Division works on a longer-range project: a two-year effort spanning 2026 and 2027 to establish the city's first integrated Community Cultural Equity Plan. Separately, the city has maintained a civic Artist Laureate Program, which named visual artist Alexey Steele as Artist Laureate in 2020.
Past editions have featured artists and arts programming, according to the Culver City News.
