When Danny J. Bakewell Sr. first created the Taste of Soul Family Festival, it was built on the idea of bringing members of the community together for a day of fun, food, and fellowship. Over the years, the Taste Soul grew beyond his imagination and blossomed into the largest street festival in Los Angeles that celebrates Black culture and highlights local businesses and organizations. Today, TOS goers can enjoy some of the best live entertainment on the Hyundai Soundstage, the 102.3 Radio FREE KJLH stage, the 94.7 the Wave stage, and the Brenda Marsh-Mitchell Gospel stage sponsored by McDonald’s. Event goers can also taste food from local restaurants, apply for jobs through the LeadersUp “Taste of Opportunity” job pavilion, have access to free health screenings as well as other community resources. For 12 years in a row, Taste of Soul has continued to provide all things soulful and be an economic driver in the Black community because of the chairs, co-chairs, partners and sponsors who support the event and its mission.
Below is the list of chairs, co-chairs, sponsors, and partners of the 13th annual Taste of Soul:
Chairs
- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
- Council President Herb J. Wesson Jr.
- Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson
- Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas
Co-Chairs
- Congresswoman Karen Bass
- Councilman Curren Price
- Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer
- Assemblymember Autumn Burke
- LAUSD School Board Member, George McKenna III
- KCBS Pat Harvey
- Ivie McNeill & Wyatt
Sponsors
- Hyundai
- LeadersUp
- LA County
- McDonald’s
- Airbnb
- Bank of America
- LADWP
- Chase Bank
- Kaiser Permanente
- Plenary Group
- Walsh/Shea
- South Coast Air Quality Management District
- Lyft
- City National Bank
- Metropolitan Water District
- West Basin Municipal Water District
- One West Bank
- California Resources Corporation
- Californians for Energy Independence
- Wells Fargo
- Charles R. Drew University
- AT&T
- US Bank
- Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital
- SEIU Local 2015
- City of Hope
- Southern California Gas Company
- Watts Health
- St. John’s Well Child & Family Center
- DaVita
- Covered California
- Good Samaritan Hospital
- Easy Choice
- Brotherhood Crusade
- Learn 4 Life
- Cedars-Sinai
- LA City Workforce Investment Board
- Los Angeles World Airports
- Comerica Bank
- MetroPCS
- South Hill Petroleum
- E&B Natural Resources
Partners
- Bakewell Media
- Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper
- Mothers in Action
- Brotherhood Crusade
- City of Los Angeles
- County of Los Angeles
- CBS2/KCAL9
- Radio FREE 102.3 KJLH
- 94.7 The WAVE
- AAUC
- Metro (Taste of Soul’s official transportation partner)
- Law Firm: Ivie, McNeill & Wyatt
“Taste of Soul is more than a food festival, more than just a block party and more than just a concert. It’s an expression of love,” said founder and creator of TOS, Bakewell Sr. “This event is pivotal to the Black community and we are very excited to welcome new and returning chairs, co-chairs, sponsors and partners to LA’s largest street festival. Thank you for your continued support in helping us to make the 13th annual Taste of Soul another record-breaking, soulful, and joyous event.”
During the Taste of Soul Family Festival, the LA Sentinel will be reporting live from the VIP tent which will feature interviews with the festival’s partners, chairs, co-chairs and sponsors to hear the reasons why they love Taste of Soul, why they decided to participate and more. Be sure to check out the Taste of Soul VIP tent interview and other event coverage next week by visiting www.lasentinel.net and www.tasteofsoul.org or download the LA Sentinel and Taste of Soul mobile apps through Google Play and the Apple Store.
