Strolling Down Crenshaw Blvd for a Taste of Soul

Mikey Duro | Lead Copy Editor

Paintings on display for sale at the Taste of Soul festival, giving people an opportunity to take a piece of art home with them. (Mikey Duro | The Corsair)

Two paintings on display featuring late LA icon Nipsey Hussle. (Mikey Duro | The Corsair)

R&B/Old School Funk band, Brothers Igniting a Groove (B.I.G.) ignited the crowd’s mood with some sweet sounds at the Bakewell Media Sounds of Soul stage. (Mikey Duro | The Corsair)

Kelly Kunta has been attending the Taste of Soul festival every year. “Taste of Soul is an opportunity for people to express their business, express themselves, and not only to express their music too,” said Kunta. (Mikey Duro | The Corsair)

P'Trains Slow Smoked BBQ was smoking up ribs and other meats from their train shaped grill and booth. (Mikey Duro | The Corsair)

Rafikiz Foodz, from San Diego, serves up traditional Kenyan food with vegan and non-vegan options. (Mikey Duro | The Corsair)

The Crenshaw community hosts the West Coast’s largest street fair.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the largest street fair on the West Coast on Saturday, Oct. 21, for the 18th annual Taste of Soul Family Festival, on historic Crenshaw Boulevard. This was a day of celebration, worship and fun for all people. 

Billed as a “Party with a Purpose,” Taste of Soul was founded by Danny J. Bakewell Sr., and has been an economic engine for the community that brings many local businesses a chance to engage with the local community. Over 100 food stands and vendors lined the street and three different stages with music performances filled the atmosphere all along Crenshaw Boulevard for almost three-fourths of a mile, between Barack Obama Boulevard and Stocker Avenue.   

A walk through the street fair starting from Obama Boulevard starts off at the 102.3-FM KJLH stage, the urban contemporary and No. 1 Black owned and operated radio station in Los Angeles. At 11 a.m. Canton Jones, a Christian hip-hop artist, started getting the crowd going.

There was tent after tent of food vendors and information booths for all sorts of city services, religious and political causes, and cooling centers for people to grab some shade on a hot day. Most of all, thousands of people are streaming about and enjoying themselves.  

About halfway through at Martin Luther King Boulevard was the Brenda Marsh-Mitchell Gospel stage, where people were gathered, listening to the sounds of worship. After a prayer with Pastor John-Paul C. Foster, a performance by The Faithful Central Parise Team had the crowd captivated.

Kelly Kunta has been showing up to the Taste of Soul every year since it was founded and loves how it brings people together from all walks of life. “I love it. It’s got food out here. They got different nationalities. People from every part of the world come out here,” Kunta said. “Taste of Soul is an opportunity for people to express their business, express themselves and not only to express their music too.”

At the far end of this bustling street fair, down by Stocker Avenue was the Bakewell Media Sounds of Soul Stage, where R&B/Old School Funk band Brothers Igniting a Groove (B.I.G.) performed in front of a large crowd.

With over 350,000 expected guests, Taste of Soul delivered a memorable experience to all who made the journey down Crenshaw Boulevard that day.