On those occasional nights where there is free time and you are wondering what there is to do, look no farther than the cafes of Ocean Beach Just down the road on Santa Monica Avenue is a small coffee house called the Lazy Hummingbird, connected to a Fed-ex center, that does so much more than provide you with fast shipping and warm coffee. It provides culture.
Held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month, the Lazy Hummingbird hosts an open mic night for local artists to come and sing, read poetry or just hang out and enjoy the music. Danielle Eder, the owner of the Lazy Hummingbird, says the open mic events are a time for performers to receive inspiration.
“I want it to be a place for artists to come and be encouraged by a great audience and atmosphere,” she says.
Open mic night, which started with four or five people, has steadily grown into a local cultural experience. On event nights, the Lazy Hummingbird is packed with upwards of fifty people and around 18 to 20 artists who play acoustic music, sing, perform magic shows or read poetry.
On open mic nights sign ups start at 6:30 p.m. and anyone is welcome to perform whatever they would like to share. It’s a great opportunity to spend an evening with people interested in performing or just to hang out with friends.
Senior Biology major Jordan Crampton has gone to the Lazy Hummingbird many times, always hoping to get a bit of homework done.
“But all the servers are really friendly, and they have lots of board games, and all these quirky activities for you to do,” he says. “So I never get any work done but every time I go there it turns into a social gathering.”
Open mic night is not the only event the Lazy Hummingbird hosts but one of many which Eder hopes will bring the community closer together. Swinging by on any given night can yield different live musicians, workshops, artist’s networking, and even clothing exchanges on the weekends. It is Eder’s hope to create a sense of community in the Ocean Beach area through her coffee shop and those who perform and come and support open mic night.
