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Silicon Beach Fest Kicks Off Today

It's all Silicon Beach, all the time, for all of the rest of the week--starting today--as Silicon Beach Fest, the combination conference, networking session, party started by Kevin Winston, kicks off at noon. The event is harnessing the startup energy in Santa Monica, and features all across town, at ROC, Cross Campus, the Viceroy, Santa Monica Place, and elsewhere.

The event--the third iteration of Silicon Beach Fest, which had its debut in June of last year--is a celebration of the technology industry's rise in Los Angeles, with keynotes from Mark Suster of GRP Partners/LaunchpadLA and Nely Galan of Galan Entertainment/Telemundo. Overall, the event organizers say there are 150 speakers participating in over 30 panels.

The Silicon Beach Festival--although still in its infancy--looks to be shaping up to be Silicon Beach's equivalent of what SXSW is to Austin, or what Boulder Startup Week is to Boulder--the area's own signature event highlighting the local startup and technology industry. In true local flavor, the event also has combined the serious (panel discussions, keynotes, startup showcases) with Southern Califorina's penchant food trucks (lunches) and parties (three separate opening night parties; two Thursday evening parties; and parties on both Friday and Saturday night). The festival even includes a number of beach events on Saturday.

(Disclaimer: socalTECH is a media sponsor of Silicon Beach Fest)