It's looking like the multi-day music and arts festival proposed for the Rose Bowl will soon be a reality. Before anyone gets too excited, let's be clear: the event at the Rose Bowl and the Brookside Golf Course is totally, definitely not going to be anything like Coachella, despite the fact that it's a three-day festival being produced by Coachella parent company AEG.
One major difference between the Rose Bowl's Arroyo Seco Music and Arts Festival and Coachella is that the Arroyo Seco festival is being pitched as family-friendly and "multi-generational," says the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Coachella, on the other hand, is mostly a pricey bacchanal with a smattering of artisanal snacks and live music where you will almost definitely lose your phone.
"This is not Coachella, we are not coming here in anyway to try to sell you on what we do in the desert," says Nic Adler, a festival producer for AEG. That doesn't mean it won't get crowded. AEG and Rose Bowl Operating Company officials predict that there will be about 90,000 people a day visiting the grounds, where music will play until 11 p.m.
A possible centerpiece of the festival will be something like a giant Borders: "A bookstore...where people can read books while acoustic music plays." Organizers are also planning to partner with local eateries and the KidSpace Children's Museum, maybe even throw in some live theater, to integrate the "identity of Pasadena" into the festival makeup. The attention to the arts "really sets this festival apart from other festivals," says Adler.
A 10-year contract for the festival has been approved by the city council, but isn't totally final yet. The first festival is expected to arrive at the Rose Bowl in June 2017.