Episode 97: Fresh Juice and Delicious Vegan Food with Dawna Bass!

Welcome back to ArtBeat Radio! Listen in as we interview Dawna Bass the co- owner of  Rainbow Juices, an amazing juice shop and Under the Sun, a raw vegan café; both located in Long Beach. We had the opportunity to interview her as part of our collaboration with KLBP 99.1 back in 2021.  Visit them at 246 E. 3rd st Long Beach, CA or follow @RainbowJuicesLB and @UnderTheSunLB on Instagram to find out more!  Thank you to Stephanie Monis for this album artwork!  Thanks for listening and tune in next time! For more information about our organization, please visit our website www.ableartswork.org   Audio Transcription (Please listen on Podomatic or Spotify to view the full transcript) *Intro music by ArtBeat Radio Staff*  You’re listening to ArtBeat Radio, a Program of Able ARTS Work  Brian: Welcome back. Today we bring you an interview that we conducted with Dawna Bass back in July of 2021. Dawna is the co-owner of Rainbow Juices and Under the Sun café. Both located in long beach, California. This interview aired on the radio last year on KLBP 99.1fm. We post episodes on KLBP periodically. Make sure you follow our social media to know when to tune in. Let's hear what Dawna had to say! Dawna: Yeah, so I’m Dawna. I am the chef and co-owner of Under the Sun and Rainbow Juices. Both places are in downtown Long Beach on 3rd street, and Long beach boulevard right by the train tracks and we’ve been there- we've been at Rainbow for about 8-years over there and Under the Sun café has been there about 5-years now. Renee: I want to introduce myself to you. My name is Renee Morneau. Welcome to our Zoom.  Dawna: Thank you Renee: And thank you for being a part of our podcast. Thank you for sharing, and thank you for coming! Dawna: thanks for having me! Brian: What's your “go-to” karaoke song? Dawna: *giggle* oh! I actually do not do karaoke very often but I just so happened to do it last week with some friends of mine, and I'd say that bohemian rhapsody is going to be the go-to karaoke song. Usually-hopefully with a group and not by myself!  Timothy: How long have you been doing this and when did you get started? Dawna: My partner Chrissy and I started juicing. We started rainbow juices about 10-years ago and about maybe 6-months into that I started doing more of the food portion. Creating raw desserts in the kitchen after hours and pretty much from there we were doing it from home and I just started having fun with it. It was like my new medium, you know? I guess I've always been a creative, so I would always use different things. Sometimes I draw, I've painted, photography, and things like that. I’ve always loved food and yeah! So, I just took it on and it's my new medium. I love being in the kitchen. About 10 or 9 years ago I would say. Renee: What made you start cooking? Dawna: Yeah, well I guess like, when I was at the juice shop, all-day late into the day- you know, I had to fill my time there while I was also doing so many other things! But being around all the fruits and veggies was just more inspiring to me and so I started making stuff and I've always been like, “Well, I love being in the kitchen!” I'm a Taurus and I like food. Renee: Oh! Dawna: So, I like making things for other people. It just- I think it happened kind of naturally, you know? Making things at the juice shop- people were interested! So, then we expanded into more of the savory foods. Yeah! So, I guess I've got to thank my mom for that too! *giggles* For always being in the kitchen with me when I was younger. Renee: I love food and I love to cook.  Dawna: Awesome. Renee: Sometimes like, once in a while, and I want to make my own business.  Dawna: Oh nice! Renee: To make smoothies and I'm gonna’ put my name on it, Renee Morneau. Dawna: Nice! Renee: It's gonna’ be like “Renee Morneau: Smoothie Shop(continued)