Now in its third annual year, Posse on Broadway brings live music and top DJ’s to the streets and venues of Downtown Santa Ana. A block party featuring 6 venues, 6 events, every 3rd Saturday of the summer June 19, July 17 & August 21.

June 19 Posse presents a FREE outdoor concert with LA folk outfit THE WATSON TWINS and local singer songwriter Barrett Johnson from 6-9pm on the 2nd Street Promenade. Directly following the concert, Proof Bar, Memphis Santora, The Crosby, Gypsy Den and Lola Gaspar host live music, DJ’s and food and drink specials until the last call.

Visit www.downtown-santaana.com for more information.

SATURDAY, JUNE 19

2nd STREET PROMENADE (Broadway/Sycamore)
6-9pm-Free-All Ages

The Watson Twins
with Barrett Johnson
& DJ Weird Beard

NORTH BROADWAY (1st-4th Sts.)
9pm–2am-Free

PROOF BAR:
J. Logic
Evol
DCON
bootmachine5000

THE CROSBY:
TVD
TSC-1 & Dijon
Thomas PM

MEMPHIS:
noMSG
Casual Touch
Acid Girls

GYPSY DEN:
Special live performances

Save the Date for 2nd installment of Posse on Broadway, July 17 with a free concert with Abandoned Pools (Tommy Walter of The Eels) and The Colourist. Details coming soon.

3rd Saturday Wine Dinner
January 2009
Tour de France

After a brief hiatus, the 3rd Saturday Wine Dinners are back at Memphis! Please mark your calendar for the return on January 17, 2009. We’re excited to once again bring you great wines and great food at a really great value. We’ll be resuming our 3rd Saturday of every month schedule so watch for future announcements.

Join us as we travel to the Loire Valley, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, and Languedoc-Rousillon and explore the wines and foods of each region.

Five courses of regionally authentic fare paired with wines of the region selected by American Wines.

3rd Saturday Wine Dinner
Tour de France $69 per person

January 17, 2009
7:00 pm
Memphis at the Santora
201 N Broadway
Santa Ana, CA 92701

The menu is being finalized and will be sent out as soon as its done. Reservations are required and can be made by emailing david@memphiscafe.com or by calling 714.564.1064.

memphiscafe.com

Take advantage of this week’s (freakishly-weird) warming trend and grab a seat on the best patio in Downtown Santa Ana.

If you’re looking for something to do in Santa Ana this weekend, check out the Art Walk at the Santiago Art District Saturday night starting at 7pm-afterward, be sure to stop in for a bite to eat!

THURSDAY – 01/15
5:00-7:00PM: Crazy Happy Hour Specials
1/2 OFF ALL APPETIZERS AND DRINKS!

Jason’s Downtown Restaurant will be open from
5:00PM-11:00PM for dinner/bar service.
FRIDAY – 01/16 (6:30PM-9:30PM)
Bill and Ted’s Jazz Machine
www.myspace.com/billandtedsjazzmachine

Interested in seeing some great local jazz? Come and check out Bill and Ted’s Jazz Machine this weekend at Jason’s Downtown restaurant in Santa Ana. They play all types of jazz including swing, bebop, bossa novas, and soul jazz. They will definitely get your toes tapping with their sweet and smooth sounds! So live a little and come out this Friday night…

SATURDAY – 01/17 (8:00PM-11:00PM)
The “Groove Revolution”
Worldwide CD Release Party!

www.myspace.com/grooverevolution

Trumpeter Bijon Watson and Bass Trombonist Chris Creswell met as members of the 1994 Disney All-American College Band, and the 1995 Disney-Grammy All-American Jazz Band. The two have remained friends and colleagues ever since, and with the addition of Keyboardist/Composer Carlos Ordiano; and featuring Drummer Felix Pollard, Bassist Rene Camacho, and Guitarist Jeff Askew, the Groove Revolution was formed. The Groove Revolution’s unique sound can only be described as an eclectic fusion of Jazz, Rock, Funk and R&B, with infectious rhythms and boundless energy.
The most recent “evolution of the revolution” features Saxophonist Louis Van Taylor and vocalist William “Hanford” Lee.

The personnel of the Groove Revolution have toured with Eric Benet, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Diana Krall, Harry Connick, Jr., Lionel Richie, Anastacia, Shelia E., George Duke, Chaka Kahn, The Staple Singers, Jessica Simpson, and Brian Culbertson to name a few. This special event marks the worldwide release of their self-titled debut recording. Fresh off a week of recording new material in the studio, don’t miss this opportunity to hear some great music from some great musicians!

www.jasonsdowntown.com

SoundDowntown 2008 is a one-day music festival on Saturday, November 15, featuring a lineup of over 50 locally and nationally recognized bands, DJ’s and performing artists at various venues throughout the Artist’s Village of downtown Santa Ana.

Preferred advance tickets are $10 and general admission is $15 day-of. Event tickets will allow patrons to enter all local venues (some 21+) curated with entertainment. Venue capacity will range from 50 to 800, so suggested arrival times will vary. Advance tickets are now on sale.
Click to hear the psa

click here to purchase!!!
New Artists TBA!
Note: Some Performances are 21+
Please Check Schedule

Sponsored in part by the Downtown Santa Ana Business Council, OC Weekly, Karl Strauss Brewing Company, KUCI, Yelp and Splitends.

Participating Venues:

The Crosby, The Yost Theater, Bistro 400, Festival Hall, Gypsy Den, Jason’s Downtown, Memphis Santora, Proof, CSF Grand Central Art Center

Billing (More TBA):
Austin Hartley-Leonard – Bearded Baby – Blank Blue – Bobby Soul – Busdriver – Cheap Date – DJ Dan Oh – DJ Dan Sena – DJ J Hall – DJ Nobody – DJ Pubes – Faded Tequila Wormz – Flying Saucers – Free Moral Agents – Free the Robots – From Elsewhere – Inkblots – Living Suns – Look Daggers – Majic Bullet Theory – Mexican Institute of Sound – MODE – My Hollow Drum – Nalepa – Narodniks – No MSG – Nortec Collective Presents Bostich + Fussible – Nosaj Thing – One Way – Peanut – Protect Me – Satisfaction – Shepard Fairey – Sparrow Love Crew – Strange Fruit – Tea Long – Teton Songwriters – The Entrance Band – The Growlers – The Hattrix Project – The (International) Noise Conspiracy – Two Guns – Venus Infers – Zechs Marquise – Zutra

The historic—and historically progressive—Artists’ Village district in the city of Santa Ana gets into the groove this November 15, with the much-anticipated soundDowntown 2008. This day-into-night music and spoken word festival happens on Saturday, November 15, from 2pm-2am, featuring a lineup of 60+ locally and nationally recognized bands, DJs and performing artists hosted by more than a dozen of Santa Ana’s most famously intriguing landmark venues, all within a walkable radius of just a few square blocks in the downtown arts district. The streets of the area won’t be blocked off, instead audiences will be issued all-access passes that allow for a freeform, self-guided experience akin to a gallery walk, complete with printed programs containing maps and full schedules, and integrating the simultaneous performances to unfold within the vibrant nightlife of the neighborhood.

One of the Southland’s best kept cultural secrets, Santa Ana is a dynamic, evolving, and engaged arts community. The Bowers Museum, Orange County High School of the Arts, OC Weekly HQ, the revitalized Santora Building, the renovated Festival Hall and Yost Theater, dozens of independent galleries, and Rude Guerrilla Theater Company are just a few of the pillars of this naturally occurring culturati hub. The noted Grand Central Art Center with its small but salient regional museum vibe in the European kunsthalle tradition, and its edgy, ambitious programming, offers the quintessential example of the kind of cultural interplay soundDowntown 2008 is engendering, as it invites radio station KUCI to program a full night of local indie buzz bands inside its galleries, including some explosive special guests to be announced soon.

In fact, each of the dozen plus venues participating share not only the organizers’ love of progressive culture, but also their passion for the breathtaking architectural preservation and innovation that gives the community its compelling, eccentric, and almost literary flavor.

soundDowntown 2008 signals the return of Koos Art Center, whose presence laid the groundwork for Santa Ana’s cultural vibrancy, as founder and soundDowntown producer Dennis Lluy reopens Koos at the Yost, once a Mexican movie house and Vaudeville theatre, and who for soundDowntown host a bill featuring; the politically-charged, anthemic rock from Rick Rubin-produced buzz band International Noise Conspiracy; Nortec Collective Presents Bostich + Fussible, a collaborative effort in furhterance of dirty TJ techno; the Entrance Band’s psychedelic avant-freedom rock; and Free the Robots blend old-school/avant-garde hip-hop.

Meanwhile, down the block, Mexican Institute of Sound’s boundary and border-blurring indie electronica and rough-riding feel-good beach Goth from the Growlers take the stageFestival Hall; The Living Suns infiltrate the Gypsy Den with their psychedelic prog rock;Bistro 400 opens their patio to host DJ Bobby Soul and Secret Affair and Jason’s throw their antes in with eclectic indie fare. Shepard Fairey aka DJ Diabetic, and DJ Pubes hold it down at the Crosby, an archetype of the lively college town coffee house offering books, art, music, food, drinks, and the kind of genre-blurring cultural fusion that defines Santa Ana society.

Among the most lively mash-ups of old and new is are the all-star spoken word jam by Hattrix Project, dancers, and music from the Magik Bullet Theory taking place at the Grand Central Art Center; DJ Nobody and Free Moral Agents at Memphis in the instantly classicSantora Building, kicking out the louder beats amid impressive surroundings that include three floors of art galleries; and Sparrow Love Crew’s soulful hip-hop and self-described “Ghettotech” draw dance-hungry crowds at Proof.

Dear Community Members,

This is an invitation to the Downtown Santa Ana Business and Neighborhood Mixer. Come and meet the many people who make Santa Ana a great place to live and work. Bring information about your business to share and sample delectable appetizers from Jason’s Downtown Restaurant and Wine Cellar complimentary of the Downtown Santa Ana Business Council.

- see upcoming branding and marketing images for the area
- interactive website launching
- receive a copy of the area’s new map for visitors
- view a list of 2008/09 events
- share your thoughts with business owners, community leaders and residents

WHEN: April 3rd from 5-8pm
WHERE: Jason’s Downtown, 416 West 4th Street (across from the Ronald Regan Courthouse)
WHO: you and others that you know, please pass this along!
CONTACT: Delilah Snell, 714.836.8727 for more information.

Thank you and we hope to see you at the Mixer!

Delilah Snell

Board Chair, Downtown Santa Ana Business Council

Amid the cookie-cutter homes in gated communities throughout Orange County, Santa Ana’s downtown has become a refreshing, urban oasis for adventurous home seekers. New businesses and a nascent artists village have drawn professionals who live in lofts and revel in the area’s Latin flavor, which differentiates the area from its starchier neighbors.

Beginnings

Santa Ana was founded in the late 1800s when William H. Spurgeon came on horse from Kentucky and bought the land, which was then part of the vast Yorba family ranch. He was the city’s first mayor when it incorporated in 1886. Public transportation, including the Red Car, train and trolleys, and roads were built in the next decades, allowing for a bustling downtown that attracted large department-store chains. These stores had closed by the late 1980s.

Changing direction

Ten years ago, the city of Santa Ana began promoting the concept of an artists village and encouraging the investment of millions of dollars in vacant historic buildings in downtown, which led to a reduction in crime.

“Santa Ana has a stigma, but some people are seeing more here now,” said Tanya Weeks, a real estate agent with Platinum Properties International, who lives in a loft. “We are the pioneers in here. But now many lofts are coming and this area will boom.”

Drawing card

Two years ago, the Olson Co. of Seal Beach built most of the 74 lofts in downtown Santa Ana, which spans the area bounded by 1st, Minter and Ross streets and Civic Center Drive. Within three years, city officials project as many as 300 more will be built, including 16 more by Olson.

“The biggest attraction for buyers is living and working in an in-town urban community,” said Bill Holford, Olson senior vice president of sales and marketing. “You have shopping, retail, services, dining and transportation all close by as opposed to living in the suburbs, where you have to commute to the different services.”

Stock report

Santa Ana’s two-story lofts, which were offered for $275,000 2 1/2 years ago, now fetch more than $500,000, Weeks said. Olson has not set prices for its 16 new ones. Four lofts currently are on the market and priced from $509,000 to $599,000.

The company’s existing lofts, with finished kitchens, painted walls and few interior divider walls, range from 1,400 square feet to 2,100 square feet. The closest traditional neighborhood to Santa Ana’s downtown is French Park, a tract of stately historic homes near Spurgeon Street and Washington Avenue. Home prices in that area range from $400,000 to $700,000. Surrounding areas also include aging rental homes and apartments.

Street scene

The downtown shopping area includes check-cashing outlets; discount clothing shops, travel agencies and jewelry stores, among other businesses.

Shoppers can also buy fresh fruit, ice cream and chips from vendor carts stationed on the streets.

The downtown area hosts an annual three-day Mexican Independence Day fair in September. About 75% of Santa Ana’s population is Latino.

Insider’s view

“What we have here is definitely not suburbia,” said Matt Lamb, the city’s downtown developer manager. “It’s definitely like nothing else in Orange County.”

Report card

Heninger Elementary School, Willard Intermediate School and Santa Ana High School serve the area. Their scores on the Academic Performance Index in 2003 were 641, 544, and 601, respectively, out of a possible 1,000. El Sol Academy and Orange County High School for the Arts are nearby charter schools with API scores of 559 and 841, respectively.

Historical values

Residential resales:

Year…Median Price

1990…$179,000

1995…$148,500

2000…$188,000

2003…$245,000

2004*…$430,000

*Through November

Sources:
DataQuick Information Systems

http://api.cde.ca.gov

http://www.santaanahistory.com

http://www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/facts/default.htm