The 18th annual Taste of Soul took over Crenshaw Boulevard this past Saturday, October 21st. Hundreds of thousands of people walked, danced, ate, and mingled their way from Stocker Street to Obama Boulevard. There were many attractions and plenty of food vendors to indulge in, leaving people full, happy, and excited for the day’s festivities.
Returning for another year was the Beer Garden, which was operated by Mothers In Action and co-hosted alongside actress, Tiffany Haddish for the “She’s Ready Comedy Lounge.” The lounge featured two shows – one at 12pm and the other at 3pm. MC of the show was comedian Memphis Will, who in between acts gave a huge shout out to “Mr. Bakewell” (Danny Bakewell) “for keeping this festival right here in the heart of Los Angeles, California and bringing all the different nationalities and beautiful souls together.” He went on to say that “we got music, we got comedy, we got food,” before heading back to work his comedic magic onstage.
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The 3pm show featured comedians: Lashelle Sanders, Brandon Wiley, Tiffany Belt, Speedy, Mario Hodge, and Memphis Will, who did not have any trouble keeping the audience laughing out loud.
The weather was a little over 80 degrees, but Mothers In Action made sure to keep guests (over the age of 21) hydrated with an assortment of alcoholic beverages to choose from. The bar menu included “wine by the glass” which consisted of: Pinot Grigio (white), Rose (sparking), Cabernet Savignon (red), Chardonnay (white), and Merlot (red). There was also “wine by the bottle” that included Stella Peach (sparkling), Stella Black (red), Prosecco (sparkling), and Moet & Chadon (champagne). The bar also offered Corona and Heineken beer and nonalcoholic beverages, assorted sodas and water.
Earlier acts included: Flame Monroe, Ramona Stephens, Lewis Dix, Joe Fox, Funny Lady, Chico Will, and Screwroy Rice,
Sean Elliott, producer of Comedy Block Party and the comedy lounge co-sponsor, described Saturday’s event as “amazing” and that his favorite part was “the way everyone came together and joined forces to make an exceptional event,” crediting Mothers In Action, Tiffany Haddish and the “She Ready Foundation, and the LA Sentinel Newspaper for “their overall vision in making this happen for the community, that touched a lot of African Americans and different races.”
Kyle Williams, founder of KW Productionz and producer of the comedy lounge, described the event as “exciting.” Williams is a Los Angeles resident who grew up in the area and said he saw people he hadn’t seen in 20 to 30 years. He went on to describe an emotional, yet memorable moment he had with Danny Bakewell during Saturday’s event.
“We were on stage I looked at him and said “Dude, you have to be extraordinary proud of yourself to be able to pull something off like this,” Williams said. “We were standing on the KJLH stage which faced down a sea of people and we stood there and hugged each other for a second.”
Mothers In Action’s (MIA) mission is to improve the quality of life of the children and families in South Los Angeles. For 25 years MIA has hosted a back to school health fair in which they distribute school supplies to over 1500 students. The nonprofit collaborates yearly with Ward Economic Development Corporation to provide meals on Thanksgiving Day to seniors, and gives toys and gift cards to more than 450 young people through its Angel Tree Christmas Project.
For more information on the Taste of Soul, visit: https://www.tasteofsoulla.com/, https://www.instagram.com/tos_streetfestla/, https://lasentinel.net/, and https://www.instagram.com/lasentinelnews/.
