A 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1999, Spring Harp Fest stages San Diego County's only annual blues-harmonica music festival at Harry Griffen Park in La Mesa. The daylong outdoor showcase pairs local jam sessions with headliner sets from nationally touring harmonica soloists, anchoring a blues-music community that includes instrument specialists like Moze Guitars on the La Mesa retail corridor. The signature Best Unknown Player competition invites amateur harmonica artists to perform onstage with a live backup band, with audience applause determining separate youth and adult trophy winners each year. Co-founded by Harmonica John Frazer, Chet Cannon, and Budd Willis, the all-volunteer organization has donated more than 5,000 harmonicas to young musicians across San Diego County, funding music-education outreach through festival proceeds. Festival lineups feature full blues bands with guitar, bass, drums, and harp, drawing players from across Southern California to the Harry Griffen Park amphitheater, a performance caliber that connects to the instrument retail and repair scene at Top Gear Guitar Pro Shop. The amphitheater's concrete stage and tiered-seating bowl provide natural acoustic projection for unamplified harmonica passages, supplemented by a full PA system with monitor wedges and direct-input channels for each performer's microphone and effects chain.