Meet Théa Irizarry

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Théa Irizarry. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Théa below.

Théa, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I believe God gave me a purpose, not that I found one myself, and that the one he gave me is to love him and my neighbors well. One of the ways he has equipped me to do that is by giving me the skills and desire to organize events that bring people together and give them a chance to get to know their communities. There’s something really special about how live music connects people to each other- both within the audience and to the person on stage. I think it’s also really powerful and practical to have deep connections with people who live close to you. My neighbor was just telling me about the time she had cancer and left her back door unlocked 24/7 because different people from up and down the street would come by at all times to bring her meals and wash her dishes and help take care of her. How special is that? My goal is to be a part of helping to develop some relationships like that, using concerts that highlight local musicians as the common denominator between people.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Ice Cream Social exists to build local community and help emerging artists in the LA area break into the live music scene. We do this by allowing artists to play without requiring evidence of past ticket sales, with the goal of the community rallying around them and coming to support whether they know the music or not. Pair that with some homemade ice cream and you know pretty much all there is to know about us! Someday we hope to open our own brick and mortar venue–an ice cream shop in the front and the stage in the back room. For now, we’re running a concert series and seeing where it goes.

Our next show will be on Friday, November 8th in downtown Burbank! The doors will open at 6pm and music will start at 7. Five LA/Orange County local bands will be taking the stage, it’ll be Oktoberfest-themed, and we’re experimenting with a new flavor of ice cream!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I want to preface this by saying that we’re not even a full year into Ice Cream Social’s existence yet, so I still have LOTS to learn and my answer to this question will probably be different by this time next year. But as of right now, the things that have been really helpful and impactful for me in starting my own business have been learning how to take good risks, being proactive, and valuing your people over your product.

I don’t know that I have a ton of advice to give due to still being so early in my own journey, but some things that have helped me develop and improve these things have been having a trusted community around me to run ideas by and trying things even if I’m not sure they’ll work. Don’t let yourself get paralyzed by the fear of messing up!

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

We are all about collaboration at Ice Cream Social! The desire to build community isn’t just for the people coming to shows, but also for the people involved in putting them on. If you’re passionate about the people of LA and helping create new connections, and like live music or ice cream or both, we’d love to hear from you!

We’re always looking for up and coming LA-local bands and musicians who are trying to build their fanbase to add to our roster for future shows. If you or someone you know fits that description, check out the submission form on our website: https://www.icecreamsocial-la.com/submityourmusic

We also have a local food/snack/coffee/etc. vendor or two at every show and would love to expand our list of people to include in that way. If you’re interested in selling at one of our concerts, shoot us an email: la.icecreamsocial@gmail.com

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Ana Miller, Tyler Disney

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of

Productivity
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others

Leadership Development
Finding Your Why

Not knowing why you are going wherever it is that you are going sounds silly,