On July 26 and 27, the mountain communities from Crestline to Running Springs will be bursting with art. Called the Rim of the World Road Concert, the event is designed to transform the mountain into a living gallery of interactive art, performance and storytelling.
This one-of-a-kind event is not a concert in the traditional sense. There is no main stage. Instead of a single venue, visitors will discover a series of pop-up experiences, installations and happenings tucked into parks, businesses and at roadside overlooks.
At each stop, the artists will invite their guests to pause, connect and experience something unexpected. At one stop, an artist may invite you to help create a mural. Another might offer an audio journey or performance. You may stumble upon a live poetry reading, a surreal puppet show or a space where you can write your memories on a community windchime.
Each moment will be different. Each is designed to bring art out of the gallery and into the forest.
The Rim of the World Road Concert has been organized by writer and artist Stephen Van Dyck. “By placing art in unexpected places, we hope to create community dialogue and use art to get people interacting with each other and with new spaces.”
Van Dyck began organizing these concerts in Los Angeles in 2008. This eighth road concert is the first in the mountain. The idea grew out of a conversation in 2023 van Dyck had with local artist David Allen Burns and Jennifer Kane, the former executive director of the San Bernardino County Arts Council.
Visitors will receive a map – either digital or printed – highlighting all the participating locations across the mountain communities. Maps are available at www.theroadconcerts.com.
A map of the installations will be available on the Road Concert website. (Contributed photos)
The Rim of the World Road Concert will feature more than 80 artists. Here are a few of the featured ones:
- Poems from a Mountaintop: Heaps Peak Arboretum, poets Candace Pearson and Jeff Rodgers. Readings from a diverse group of poets throughout the day. Each hour will offer an open mic session for those who would like to share their own writing.
- Jeklyn’s Time-Tours: Lake Arrowhead Brewing Co., Lyndsie Scoggin and Morghann Stevens of Odyssey Adventure Co. Discover a mysterious time machine featuring immersive puzzles and interactive storytelling. This experience showcases a mini-escape room-style game where you will uncover deep secrets surrounding the time machine and its creator.
- The Overlook: Red Rock scenic overlook. Composer and pianist David Rhodes will share music created for this location, blending keytar, field recordings and electronics. The music explores the line between loving a landscape and unintentionally harming it.
- Legggs: Various locations. Traveling artist Kim Darling presents sculptures that are as bold as they are thought provoking. Her surreal legs erupt with punk-infused energy, painted in vibrant colors.
- The End: Strawberry Peak lookout tower. Semi-tropic spiritualists Astri Swendsrud and Quinn Gomez-Heitzeberg have created this sculptural piece in response to the apocalyptic rhetoric that marks so much contemporary political and cultural discourse.
The Rim of the World Road concert is an invitation to rediscover wonder in the world around you – and it is completely free.
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