Citrus Height City Manager Ash Feeney becomes a fan of professional jazz harp music together with Citrus Heights City Councilmember Porsche Middleton and her mother Gigi Rayford, executive director and founder of the non-profit Citrus Heights Arts. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Citrus Heights Arts, and community partners Sunrise MarketPlace, the Marketplace at Birdcage and the city of Citrus Heights teamed up Saturday, October 14th to present ArtBeat, a first-ever, art and music festival at the Marketplace at Birdcage, located at 5975 Birdcage Centre Lane, just behind Jamba Juice.

The festival held from 11 am to 3 pm attracted a substantial crowd throughout the day who mingled with local artists and listened to live music.

“This festival is all about celebrating artistic expression and providing entertainment for everyone in the community,” said Gigi Rayford, executive director and founder of the non-profit Citrus Heights Arts. The group was the recipient of a 2023 community projects grant from the City of Citrus Heights.

ArtBeat celebrated the work by a range of local artists and vendors. Individual artists included Art by Brea, Kiki Making Art and works by Nadine Gonzaga-Haduca.

The captivating sounds of professional jazz harpist Motoshi Kosako, who now calls Sacramento home, gently welcomed those arriving to ArtBeat.

Kosako began his musical journey at a young ago on the piano and later jazz guitar in Tokyo, Japan where he became a rising star on the jazz scene there. He moved to the United States in 1997 and immersed himself in the self-study of the harp, becoming a principal harpist of Stockton Symphony Orchestra and featured soloist in its 2009 and 2010 season. From his deep background in jazz, Motoshi challenges the traditional use of the harp with his modern jazz compositions and innovative playing style.

Just to the left of the ArtBeat stage, as Motoshi played, Mammxth, a custom artist from Sacramento splashed a large canvas with sprays of color.

Members of the Citrus Heights Kiwanis Club, of which Rayford is a fellow member, volunteered to help vendors set up. Citrus Heights city council member Porsche Middleton and city manager Ash Feeney welcomed the public to the festival.

Student members of the Mesa Verde High School Key Club received accolades from city councilperson Middleton for coming early to help with set-up and running a spin-to-win booth with fellow students from the AVID program.

The event also featured food trucks, a face painting booth and games for children as well as free cups of cold Kono shaved Ice and Leatherby’s Ice Cream.

Throughout the day, the area behind Jamba Juice in the Marketplace at Birdcage turned into a dance floor as the electrifying beats of “master of the mix”, DJ Troy, took ArtBeat attendees on a sonic musical journey before headliner Brady Shammar, a captivating Afrocentric singer, songwriter, producer and arranger from Kingston, Jamaica took the stage to close out the event.

Shammar had graced prestigious stages across the country alongside luminaries such as Max Romeo, the Original Wailers and Toots and the Maytals. She has also performed at the “One Love One Heart” Festival in Sacramento, CA, “Reggae on the River” in Humboldt and the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in Mendocino.

Sponsors of Citrus Heights ArtBeat included Sunrise MarketPlace, the city of Citrus Heights, Sacramento Tree Foundation, California American Water, Marketplace at Birdcage and Stones Gambling Hall.

Citrus Heights Arts, founded by Gigi Rayford in 2016, continues to host monthly events at the Sylvan Community Center at 7521 Community Center on the third Saturday of each month. For more information about future events visit: https://citrusheightsarts.org/artbeat

Custom artist Mammxth from Sacramento splashed a large canvas with sprays of color. Thomas J. Sullivan

The captivating sounds of professional jazz harpist Motoshi Kosako gently welcomed those arriving to ArtBeat. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan