By Megan Guerrero

With a student body of over 4,600 students, it’s no secret that the campus is flowing with a diverse array of talent. However, it may be hard to keep up with all of the artistry on campus considering the vast amount of performing arts programs, classes, clubs, and independent musicians.
The Associated Student Body (ASB) hosted the school’s first music festival on Saturday March 29 called Camp Granada. During this festival, Granada Hills Charter (GHC) students, family and friends camped out on blankets in the quad to view all of our student talent on a centralized, festival-like stage.

The event hosted an exciting variety of performers, showcasing the diversity of talent on campus. Attendees were able to experience performances from multiple forms and genres of musical talent including acapella, Latin, rock, indie, instrumental jazz.

Several school groups performed including Jazz Combo A, Accidental Music, and Major Seventh performed. Three of our acapella groups also performed including Once Upon a Time, Happily Ever After, and the Acafellas.

There were two Mariachi groups: Mariachi Sol y Luna and Mariachi Vaqueros del Valle. Two other Latin performers included Las Hermanas Ornelas and vocalist Daisy Trujillo. The festival also featured dance groups like Ballet Folklorico and Rev Steps. Other student performers included The Shakoiys, 2 A.M., and 31st Floor.

“After my performances, my band mates and I were approached by a myriad of folks who were just so positive,” senior and member of Acafellas John Luke Cerda said. “It really was just a great experience to participate in.”

Aside from the performances, Camp Granada also offered an array of festival-style activities that made the event even more special.

These activities included food stands, games, and photo opportunities for guests to capture memories with their friends.

“The livelihood and environment of Camp Granada was relaxing and entertaining,” senior and Art 4 the Heart Co-President Farrah Chavez said. “I was able to experience vending while listening to all the talented performers, everyone was so supportive.”

The festival atmosphere played a significant role in making it a fun, community-driven celebration of student talent.

“My favorite part about being able to perform at Camp Granada was honestly the crowd that formed for us during our set,” said GHC Senior Hayden Chow, drummer for The Shakoiys. “A lot of time and effort that all four members of our band put into learning music and practicing, so when we had a crowd singing along with us we got the chills. We just wanted to have fun performing and playing together because that’s really how our band formed.”

Many of the performers felt that the festival atmosphere and the crowd added to their excitement and enjoyment of performing at Camp Granada.

“I was very excited because it was my first time performing in Rev Steps for people outside of the school,” junior Julie Defrancia of Rev Steps said. “We could tell the crowd loved it by the way they were cheering. I couldn’t stop smiling even though I was supposed to have a serious facial expression. The crowd is what brought it all together.”

Preparation for the Camp Granada started in January, when ASB sophomore cabinet members Lucina Mitchell and Zachary Prasad were brainstorming ideas for a spring event at GHC.

“The idea of a music festival for student groups sounded like the perfect idea,” Prasad said. “ The ASB cabinet came to my co-chair, Lucinda Mitchell, and I, and we were instantly on board with planning Camp Granada. By combining games, photo opportunities, food, and of course, music, we created the perfect spring festival.”

ASB collaborated with over 20 music groups from GHC, over a dozen club vendors, and countless GHC staff and administrators to make Camp Granada a success. ASB hopes to continue the concert for years to come.

“We brought the musician community of Granada Hills Charter together, and it’s so cool that it’s exclusively student talent,” senior ASB historian and Camp Granada performer Brooke Miller said. “Although it’s brand new, I think this is an event that will happen for a long time at Granada.”