“It’s really truly grassroots,” Vanisha Evans Douvon says. “Everybody’s coming together. Even my brothers and sisters are coming out to set up a stage.”

Douvon – orchestra programs manager for the nonprofit Youth Music Monterey and South County Strings – is one of the organizers of the first annual Salinas Music and Arts Summit, an all-day festival showcasing the community artistic voices.

A few months ago, at a Building Healthy Communities meeting in east Salinas, Douvon met like-minded Rafael Garcia, who works for a nonprofit that brings theater into Alisal-area schools. Garcia already had experience putting together the smaller-scale, short-lived Music in the Park at Natividad back in 1999.

“We wanted to do the same thing, but take it to the next level,” Garcia says.

As two representatives of local arts organizations, Douvon and Garcia felt it was their duty to make the Summit a reality.

“[Garcia] already had a vision in mind, so we just started talking to people and asking if they were interested,” Douvon says.

Many enthusiastically expressed interest, and the festival quickly yielded a roster of sponsors, including Rancho Cielo, Return of the Natives and the City of Salinas Parks and Recreation Department. The event also attracted more than 10 local music acts highlighted by The Joint Venture, Dubwize, Cali Nation and Militia of Love. In addition to music there will be hula dancers, performances by Youth Salinas Speaks and the Bill’s Wheels Skate Team.

Garcia says the festival will not only provide an additional platform for local bands to get more exposure, it will introduce some of the programs that have to do with arts, dance and music to the community. One of the hands-on, educational components will be an airbrush workshop sponsored by the Salvation Army of Salinas.

“We’re a diverse culture here in Salinas,” Garcia says. “It’s important to engage a community, and we want to inspire people to create.”

A second Salinas Music and Arts Summit will be held at the same location Aug. 8.

SALINAS MUSIC AND ARTS SUMMIT happens 11am-4pm Sunday, July 11, at Natividad Creek Park, 1395 Nogal Dr., Salinas. Free.