Thank you for joining us for the the FIFTH ANNUAL VALLEY ARTS FESTIVAL, held on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2025!
HERITAGE PARK
220 Peyri Dr.
Oceanside, CA 92058
Studio ACE proudly presented and celebrated the fifth year of Valley Arts Festival (VAF) on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at Heritage Park in Oceanside. This vibrant community event came to life in part thanks to the generous support of Title Sponsor Visit Oceanside and Community Sponsor SoCal Edison.
Presented in partnership with Studio ACE, Oceanside Public Library, Friends of the Oceanside Public Library, Mission San Luis Rey, Floating Hearts Connections, Muramid Art & Cultural Center (California headquarters of the UNESCO Center for Peace), and Oceanside Cultural Arts Foundation, the festival was held in cooperation with Mel Vernon, Captain of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians.
What is valley arts festival?
The purpose of VAF is to present a celebration of Oceanside and its first peoples, today known as the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians, one of the seven tribes of the Luiseño nation. The Luiseño people are an indigenous people of California who inhabited the coastal area of Southern California; in the Luiseño language, the people call themselves Payómkawichum, meaning “People of the West”.
Having celebrated its fifth year, VAF continues its mission to honor, support, and celebrate the indigenous population that lived on the land now known as Oceanside for over 10,000 years, while educating the broader public about the enduring beauty, strength, and contributions of the Luiseño culture. A portion of festival proceeds benefit the San Luis Rey Mission Indian Foundation, supporting cultural enrichment programs.
2025 was another great success!
The free, family-friendly festival, themed “Spirit of the Valley: Kíicha Nights, Coyote Dreams©, ” built on the success of past years with an array of engaging activities, performances, and vendors. The celebration opened and closed with traditional drumming by Dancing Cloud Drum Circle, featuring tribal youth dancers. Musical performances included Native American flute music by Faustino Fredericks and Spiritual Storm, along with Native American blues by Tracy Lee Nelson. Adding to the cultural richness, students from Pablo Tac Elementary performed the Luiseño story “The Stink Bug,” and students from Foussat Elementary presented “Kíicha Nights, Coyote Dreams©,” an original story written by Mel Vernon.
A performance of "Kíicha Nights, Coyote Dreams", a story written by Mel Vernon.
The enhanced educational area featured a three-quarter–size Kíicha, which is a dome-shaped structure made of tule reeds and/or willow branches, representing the traditional home of the Luiseño people. Visitors also viewed a traditional tule boat, crafted from tule—a native perennial found throughout northern, central, and southern California. The area offered a Luiseño basket-weaving demonstration by Mark Farris, a member of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians, alongside tables showcasing historic cultural artifacts, educational posters, and models.
Sponsorship Opportunities are available for VAF. Please contact julia@studioace.org for more information.
VAF also featured a wide range of interactive, family-friendly activities, including basket weaving with the Paa’ila Basket Weavers, led by Diania Caudell, a member of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians and Board Member of the California Indian Basket Weavers Association (CIBA), crafts with the Oceanside Public Library, gourd painting with Mission San Luis Rey, wood painting and Kíicha-inspired projects with StudioACE, interactive community murals for youth and adults with Muramid Art & Cultural Center, and more!
In addition to music, hands-on activities, and art-making, the festival showcased a variety of goods for sale by Native American artists and vendors, including flutes, drums, artwork, clothing, jewelry, and delicious Indian Fry Bread.
Please note no weapons or alcohol are ever allowed at Valley Arts Festival, and the selling of sage is prohibited. Service dogs only please.
An exhibition, First Peoples, Future Visions: Honoring Indigenous Roots, Inspiring New Paths, was held in conjuction with Valley Arts Festival, on view November 10-26. Click here to see the art!
Be sure to follow all the Valley Arts Festival fun on Facebook or Instagram!
Thank you to our 2025 FESTIVAL TITLE Sponsor!
Thank you to our 2025 FESTIVAL community Sponsors!
Thank you to our 2025 Festival Community Partners!
Festival History
Valley Arts Festival originally debuted in 2019 as “Mission District Arts Festival” and was envisioned to be an annual celebration of the vibrant arts & culture in the Oceanside valley, with a rotating theme each year. Like so many other community events, the festival was put on hold in 2020, but this allowed time for reflection and reinvention, and the festival made its official reemergence in 2021 as “Valley Arts Festival”, with the inaugural theme being a celebration of Oceanside and its first peoples, the Payómkawichum (People of the West). The seven tribes are known today as the Luiseño nation, and VAF specifically highlights one of the seven tribes, the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians. After the success of the event in 2021, the decision was made to continue Valley Arts Festival as an annual celebration of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians and the Luiseño history and culture, aiming to help support and celebrate the indigenous population that lived on the land now known as Oceanside, and educate the community on the beauty and strength of this amazing culture. A portion of proceeds from the festival each year will be donated to the San Luis Rey Mission Indian Foundation for enrichment programs.
