Seven hundred tickets were sold for the first Los Angeles Donut Festival that took place on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Mad Ave Graffiti House.
As of Sept. 12, tickets for the event had sold out. There were 500 general admission tickets and 200 VIP tickets that were sold.
All tickets included entrance as well as an official festival mug and endless coffee. Those who purchased VIP entrance also got a t-shirt and had access to an espresso bar and a donut burger for lunch… yes, a donut burger.
All proceeds from the LA Donut Festival went to benefit the Salvation Army of Glendale. Money raised at the LA Donut Festival will be used to aid projects such as the food pantry, meals on wheels for seniors, transitional housing programs and after school programs for at risk youth in the neighborhood.
According to the website, the Salvation Army of Glendale provides groceries to 450 families from their food pantry. General assistant Mathijs Arens explained that the Salvation Army also provides an after school program for kids ages 8-14 that offers them access to resources such as computers and tutoring.
“On average, there are about 40 kids a day who come for after school tutoring,” said Arens. “During the week we also have a food pantry open daily available to help struggling families.”
There were over 13 donut shops that participated in the event, some of which included DK’s Donuts, California Donuts and Kettle Glazed.
Attendees were each given a tray to fill and a punch card. Those in attendance went table to table and were given a sample of a donut from each shop. Once they received a sample, their cards were punched to ensure no one was getting seconds.
Some shops were giving more than just samples. Spudnuts Donuts setup a spin wheel and as long as donut lovers showed they were following the shops on Instagram, they received a free spin. The prizes included free donuts and different coupons.
The Instagram famous donut shop, California Donuts, were giving samples of their famous Blueberry Toast Crunch donut. Santa Monica’s DK’s Donuts were sampling their Cookies ‘n Cream Oreo Bar. Both of these donuts were not only deliciously sweet, but they also had a bit of crunch to them.
John Desprez, operations manager at Sidecar Doughnuts, had a booth set up announcing an opening in Santa Monica. Sidecar Doughnuts already has a store in Costa Mesa, and in November the Santa Monica one will open.
Desprez shared that they have a good following in LA and that they are excited to finally be in L.A. Their donuts are fried fresh in small batches every hour. Desprez says that to ensure that guests enjoy fresh donuts, the donuts are only out for an hour, and any donuts that aren’t sold get donated to a local food bank.
Inside, mother Reyko Fry of San Gabriel enjoyed some donuts with her daughter Tyra Butler. Both of them agreed that Kettle Glaze Donuts were their favorites. Fry shares that she found out about the donut festival after receiving an email from Yelp.
Paige Housner of Studio City says that her friends refer to her as the “Donut Queen.” After being tagged in the events post by many of her friends, she knew she had to come. Her and her boyfriend, Fabian Perez, enjoyed the day together in their donut-themed outfits.
Out in the 83 degree weather these three friends didn’t let the heat bother them. Angelenos Alexia Cornett, Will Lentz, and Beau Raulins were very excited to be in attendance. These donut fanatics were three of the 200 VIPS.
Raulins carefully organized his donuts before consumption to avoid eating similarly flavored donuts back to back. Cornett had advised her friends to quickly eat the donuts because if they did it too slow, they would get full.
Of all the donut shops, Lentz and Raulins shared that they had only been to Kettle Glaze and California Donuts, so they were excited to try new places. Raulins was appropriately dressed for the occasion in his donut shorts.
Many people in attendance found out about the event online, via social media.
The LA Donut Festival was a nice outing for everyone. The vendors were all set up inside, and there were tables and chairs outside for people to enjoy their donuts. Inside there was a live cover band and some seating for those who didn’t want to be in the heat. Beside the cover band, Mad Ave’s walls were filled with art, which seemed to make a good background for many group pictures.
The first Los Angeles Donut Festival seemed to be a big hit and quite successful, hopefully it won’t be the last.
