The FAM Fest 2024 lineup is, well, nothing short of stacked with food, art, and music for its Saturday, Oct. 12 outing. And while it features some of the city’s best chefs, artists, and musicians, not one cent goes back to profit but toward the Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Institute at Miller’s Hospital.
For organizer and founder, Chef Philip Pretty of Heritage, it is something he hope to expand each year with its growing list of patrons-gone-philanthropists.
The roots of FAM Fest celebrate an inherently great combination: good food, good artists, and good people.
Like many humans across the planet, Chef Philip is no stranger to the poison that cancer
“I never speak much on it but my grandma died of cancer, my grandpa died of cancer,” Chef Philip said. “So the awareness of that type of loss has always been there, whether it’s being scared of cancer or simply knowing it just sucks. Later on, when I started to cook, I understood how food is a great outlet to raise funds—whether it’s for cancer or someone’s bar mitzvah. I never really felt I was in a place where I could do what I wanted to do in my head until Lauren and I took on Heritage.”
With the end of captivity over with COVID, Chef Philip’s most solid sense of connection to both profession and family, and the nagging need to finally follow through, the first FAM Fest was born. Taking over Heritage Farm—the Pretty’s green space off of Anaheim at Gladys Avenue that rightfully earned them a Michelin green star on top of their history-making Michelin star—FAM Fest saw about a hundred people show up to look at and partake in what Chef Philip loves most: food, music, and art.
Then he harnessed the grip of friends he knows in the art world. Like asking tattooing legend Kari Barba to come. Or grabbing Grammy-award winning artist and all-around stellar human Dave Van Patten, along with his crazily talented wife, Kashira Edghill, to help with art. Learning that his nneighbors were former members of O.C.-based band The Growlers…
This year will be different…
The inaugural FAM Fest was the perfect beginning to what Chef Phil was hoping for—but this year will be slightly different. And by slightly different, Chef Philip means much more expanded. Instead of one band there will be three. There’s three more purveyors as well. Chef Philip’s newly minted beverage director for his upcoming concept Olive & Rose, Noah Friedman (previously of Baby Gee Bar) will be on hand for cocktails, as well as beer and wine service being offered.
“The art this year is going to be more curated as well,” Chef Philip said. “And we’re going to even bring in an auctioneer instead of a silent auction for items we’re selling. So you’ll be hearing the numbers aloud: ‘I gotta 50, anyone gonna give me 55? C’mon 55, 55, lookin’ for a 55…’ It makes a bit more multi-faceted and fun.”
And this year’s lineup? Absolutely. Insanely. Utterly. Stacked.
So who, exactly, will be at FAM Fest 2024?
You might know a few…
- Alder & Sage
- Ammatolí
- Bar Becky
- Battambong BBQ
- Gusto
- Marlena
- Michael’s on Naples
- Hamburgers Nice
- Heritage
- Hey Brother Baker
- Olive & Rose
- O&R Cocktails
- Speak Cheezy
- Sushi Nikkei
And the artists:
- Dave Van Patten
- Kari Barba
- Eric Machado
- Nyra Cruz
- Charlene Hsu-Rodriguez
- Will Thompson
- Cierra Vaughan
- Gali
- Jhon Gutti
- Jeremiah Barba
- Shawn Barber
- Mia Barba
- Mikey Carrasco
- Berlin Barba
- Dan Marshall
- Tiger Ramos
- Guy Aitchison
- Jackie David
- Austin Krauss
- Cole Strem
- Kashira Edghill
- Luis Zavala
And the music…
- Soft Palms
- Cassowary
- Space Beach Cowboy
FAM Fest 2024 will take place on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 5PM to 9PM at Heritage Farm, located at 1336 Gladys Ave. All proceeds go to the Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Institute at Miller’s Hospital. For tickets, click here.
