The Abbot Kinney Festival Association (AKFA) is now accepting applications for its Community Grants Program. Every year the AKFA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, donates proceeds from the Abbot Kinney Festival to local arts, beautification, youth, and family programs.  Venice-based community organizations and non-profits are encouraged to apply for grants (maximum $5,000).

The AKFA has donated more than a quarter million dollars to the Venice community since the grants program began; planting gardens, building robots, sparking creativity and supporting families in need.  Money from festival sponsorships, exhibitor booths, commemorative merchandise, and advertising fund the AKFA Community Grants Program.

Who's benefiting?  Past recipients include:  Inside Out Community Arts, Boys and Girls Club of Venice, Westminster Elementary Endowment, Venice Arts, 826LA, Coeur d'Alene Elementary School, Venice High School Robotics Club, Venice Arts Council, A Window Between Worlds, Electric Lodge, Beyond Baroque, Venice Historical Society, Venice Community Garden, Venice Oceanarium, Venice Surf & Skateboard Association, and others. Festival proceeds will be awarded to this year's recipients during the Abbot Kinney Festival, Sunday, September 30, 2012.

"The festival's free and a lot of fun!  But the driving force behind it all is giving back to our community - to Venice.  We're doin' good in the 'hood", said Donna Humphrey,  Chair, Abbot Kinney Festival Association.

For more information and details about the AKFA Community Grants Program and the 2012 Abbot Kinney Festival, visit www.abbotkinney.org, email communitygrants@abbotkinney.org, or call (310) 396-3772.

To apply online, visit http://abbotkinney.org/grant-application.

Deadline to apply is July 15, 2012.

Congratulations to the following (listed by number of selected photos):

Jeven Dovey (4)
Benjamin Walsh (3)
Janine Roach (3)
Miki Turner (2)
Darin Black (2)
Denise Hung (1)
Martin Irazoqui (1)

Click HERE to see the winning images! To view all submissions, visit HERE.

To be considered for this year's contest, all photos must be submitted on this Abbot Kinney Festival Flickr group page by Friday, October 7, 2011.

RULES & REGULATIONS

1) The photo must be taken during the 2011 Abbot Kinney Festival and uploaded at www.Flickr.com/groups/Abbot Kinney Festival and tagged as "#AKFest2011"

2) Each member can submit up to 10 photos.

3) Each member must indicate where and when the photo was taken, and under which category that the photo should be reviewed. The following categories are suggested only, and alternate categories are considered:

--BEST MOTION SHOT
--BEST CROWD SHOT
--BEST KID SHOT
--BEST FOOD SHOT
--BEST BAND SHOT
--BEST EXHIBITORS or SPONSORS SHOT (booth and/or products)
--BEST ART SHOT
--BEST OVERALL SHOT

4) This contest is open to professional and non-professional photographers.

5) The photo must be your own and not something you found on the Internet.

6) Abbot Kinney Festival organizers will select the finalists and post top entries on its website at www.abbotkinney.org. Public comments will be accepted to assist the judges in choosing the winners.

7) All photographs will remain copyrighted to the photographer. However, by entering the contest, you hereby grant a royalty-free license to Abbot Kinney Festival Association (AKFA) for promotional use only, which includes the ability to reproduce, distribute, and publicly display your photographs in association with the Abbot Kinney Festival through print and electronic media. By submitting work, you also accept that AKFA and the Abbot Kinney Festival can crop and alter your images, if needed, to make them suitable for print, display, and/or projection.

The winners will be announced on the Abbot Kinney Festival website by November 15, 2011. The winner will be notified by an Abbot Kinney Festival representative through the contact methods available in the winner's Flickr profile or alternate means submitted by the photographer. Please make sure your Flickr profile is up-to-date so we can contact you!

QUESTIONS? Send an email to marketing@abbotkinney.org or click HERE.

Stay tuned here for updates ...

L.A. freestyle battle king, DFD, is scheduled to perform on the Andalusia Stage produced by MILKMADE.  For detailed set times, click here.

"Widely known for illuminating the best and brightest in independent fashion and lifestyle, MILKMADE turns its exacting beam on the independent voices of Los Angeles' musical heartbeat. Hand-picked from the storied music halls of the Southland, these intrepid troubadours collectively stake this city's contemporary claim to the great American songwriting traditions of roots music, rock & roll, and classic soul."

We're excited to announce our official music line-up for the 27th Annual Abbot Kinney Festival! Produced once again by dublab, L.A. Record, and MILKMADE, each of the three music stages feature a diverse roster of L.A.'s most exciting, and critically acclaimed, independent acts.  For more information on music at this year’s festival, including detailed performance schedules, click here.

Among them is 826 LA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students, ages 6 to 18, with their creative and expository writing skills. The grant to 826LA helped support the organization's After-School Tutoring Program for underserved youth living in low-income neighborhoods in the Venice area.

Apply today by clicking HERE!