South L.A. Young Adults Power the Beehive Block Party

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, July 30, 2026

Young adults from South Los Angeles organized the fifth annual Beehive Block Party, showcasing local food, art, and live music as part of the SoLa Live Accelerator program. This event highlights the initiative's role in empowering youth—many of whom are UCLA students—with hands-on experience in event production and promoting greater representation of artists of color in the entertainment industry.

In South Los Angeles on Saturday, young adults from the community took the lead in producing the fifth annual Beehive Block Party, a lively event held in the 20,000-square-foot courtyard of the Beehive complex. The gathering featured food, art, and secondhand clothing vendors, as well as live musical performances including jazz artist Veritus Miller, soulful octet wst cmplx, and headliner Navy Blue.

Organized entirely by a cohort of South L.A. youth aged 16 to 22, the event was the culmination of months of preparation through the SoLa Live Accelerator program. Participants, many of whom are UCLA students or local residents, worked collaboratively on every element of the festival—from branding and promotional materials to logistics and artist selection. Audrey Ohwobete and Gladis Verenice Ramírez Veliz, both current accelerator members and UCLA students, emphasized the collective effort involved in shaping the event’s identity, noting specific design choices such as the orange and blue “sunset-type” color scheme.

The SoLa Live Accelerator program is a partnership between the SoLa Foundation—a nonprofit arm of the affordable housing and real estate firm SoLa Impact—and Live Nation, one of the largest live entertainment companies in the world. Launched in 2022 as a 10-week pilot initiative, the program has since expanded to a six-month intensive curriculum. It offers participants weekly sessions with Live Nation guest speakers, providing hands-on experience in live event production and a pathway into the entertainment industry.

Sherri Francois, executive director of the SoLa Foundation, said the partnership with Live Nation was born from a conversation with Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino about the underrepresentation of artists of color in mainstream live entertainment. The accelerator program seeks to address this disparity by equipping young people of color with the skills and networks necessary to succeed behind the scenes as well as on stage.

Alongside its work with live entertainment, the SoLa Foundation also operates the SoLa Technology and Entrepreneurship Center and offers scholarship programs aimed at supporting youth in South Los Angeles. The Beehive Block Party serves as a public showcase for these efforts, highlighting the creativity and leadership of local young adults while fostering community engagement through arts and culture.

This year’s event not only provided entertainment but also an opportunity for participants to gain real-world experience managing a complex live event, underscoring the growing role of South L.A. youth in shaping the cultural landscape of their neighborhoods.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.