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<\/p>\nThe festival returned to Imperial Avenue, bringing together longtime residents, local businesses and newcomers looking to build community.<\/p>\n
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Written by Lauren J. Mapp, Edited by Kate Morrissey<\/p>\n
People danced, children laughed on nearby swings and Kahlil Nash shredded on his guitar, channeling the energy of the late musician Prince, as folding camping chairs filled the grassy lawn at Marie Widman Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Encanto Block Party Music Festival drew more than 1,500 people on July 12 to Imperial Avenue, where they enjoyed live music and shopped from local vendors at the adjacent street fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Organized by the Black Arts and Culture District, Sunday\u2019s festival marked a return to a longtime Encanto tradition of block parties on Imperial Avenue between Woodman and 68th streets, said Carolyn Smith, a coordinator with the Black Arts and Culture District through the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to help bring back what used to happen here in Encanto,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe’re calling it the ‘block party’ because it’s Woodman to 68th, but to help people remember what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
After forming in 2022, Black Arts and Culture District planned to host its first block party at Marie Widman Memorial Park in 2024, but Smith said January 2024 flooding<\/a> in the neighborhood forced organizers to host the event in Martin Luther King Jr. Park for the past two years.<\/p>\n People hang out on picnic blankets and camping chairs at Marie Widman Memorial Park during the Encanto Block Party Music Festival. Lauren J. Mapp\/Daylight San Diego<\/p>\n The community held the original Encanto Street Fair on Imperial Avenue on Aug. 21, 1993 to celebrate the completion of a $400,000 “Streetscape Art Project”<\/a> by Eddie Edwards. Selected by the community, Smith said the artwork depicts scenes ranging from horses and neighborhood life to science and youth, offering a visual tribute to the people and stories that have shaped the neighborhood.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s festivalgoers explored the art installation of 24 decorative panels along Imperial Avenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of times people take things for granted because they see it all the time, so this is a good way to bring everybody back,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n Throughout the day, music from Dub Testament, Geminelle, Lenny \u201cFuzzy\u201d Rankins and Nash filled the park while host Dominic Malone kept the crowd engaged between DJ sets by Dauch\u00e9 and Almond Eyez.<\/p>\n Kahlil Nash performs during the Encanto Block Party Music Festival on Sunday, July 12, 2026. Lauren J. Mapp\/Daylight San Diego<\/p>\n Some guests bought hats embroidered with a heart-shaped \u201cSD,\u201d t-shirts adorned with 3D roses and blue light glasses. Others grabbed smash burgers, collard greens, sweet cornbread cookies and chocolate-dipped strawberries from the food vendors set up along Imperial Avenue.<\/p>\n Mvinyo \u2014 a Southeast San Diegan vendor highlighting wines made by vintners of color \u2014 poured wine, beer and icy lychee fros\u00e9 at The Block Club, about three blocks away from the park.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beyond the music, food and shopping, the festival gave longtime residents and newcomers alike a place to reconnect with old neighbors, support local businesses and build new relationships.<\/p>\n Vendor Isiah Jones grew up in nearby Lincoln Park and founded Porsha\u2019s Marketplace<\/a>, a clothing brand named in honor of his cousin who died in 2020. Jones grew up attending the Encanto Street Fair and said being at Sunday\u2019s block party brought back fond memories.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt means everything to me,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt gives our community something else to do. I feel like over the past couple years, we’ve been kind of lacking events within the community. Anytime that we can come out as a people and enjoy some good weather, enjoy some good music, enjoy some good food \u2014 also support the local businesses, which helps build the economy \u2014 I’m all for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Left: Porsha\u2019s Marketplace owner Isiah Jones talks about how he collaborated on his hat design to honor Southeast San Diego during the Encanto Block Party Music Festival on Sunday, July 12, 2026. Right: Hats from Porsha’s Marketplace are displayed on a table at Isiah Jones’ booth. Lauren J. Mapp\/Daylight San Diego<\/p>\n For R&B singer and wellness entrepreneur Geminelle Malone<\/a>, Sunday’s festival marked a full-circle moment from her roots growing up attending the street fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Paradise Hills native returned to the festival as both a performer and entrepreneur, taking the stage while also operating a wellness booth with her husband, Dominic, who also served as the festival\u2019s host.<\/p>\n The couple transformed their booth into a \u201crestoration station,\u201d inviting festivalgoers to step away from the crowds, browse wellness resources and take a moment to recharge. Between greeting visitors and preparing for her performance, Malone welcomed visitors into her booth as her young son napped on a pink velvet bench.<\/p>\n \u201cI never had the opportunity to perform here, so to be able to be here, to be performing, and to be able to have a space to share what it is that my husband and I do is such a blessing,\u201d Malone told Daylight.<\/p>\n Julia D.C. Jones, who co-owns Mitri\u2019s Delights<\/a> with her daughter Mitri Jones, said Sunday\u2019s block party also evoked her memories from the Encanto Street Fair. Early in the day, Jones said she was most looking forward to chatting with other vendors and community members throughout the festival.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it’s all said and done, I hope that we can all just connect and remember each other and help each other when we see each other in the store somewhere else,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n While many of Sunday\u2019s attendees and vendors grew up in the neighborhood \u2014 or come from families who have called Southeast San Diego home for generations \u2014 several festival goers were recent transplants to San Diego.<\/p>\n Two months after moving from Sacramento, Najah Hopkins<\/a> attended Sunday\u2019s block party searching for something every newcomer hopes to find: community.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a Black woman who recently moved to San Diego as a new administrative law judge, she said it\u2019s been challenging to meet people who have shared cultural connections in a city where Black residents make up only 5.6% of the population, according to U.S. Census data<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m new here. I don’t know where to go, what to do,\u201d Hopkins said. \u201cI thought that this would be a great opportunity to see what the town is all about and hopefully meet some people.\u201d<\/p>\n Jennifer Essieh, who launched her cookie business after moving to San Diego from Boston last year, said festivals like Sunday’s have helped her feel more connected to the city’s community of entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore this, I hadn’t come across people like me or businesses like mine, so having these types of events kind of introduced me to different vendors, different people and different small businesses to support,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The San Diego Black Arts and Culture District is currently running a contest<\/a> to name a new public space on Imperial Avenue near The Mental Bar and The Block Club. Once crews complete renovations, the space will host theatrical performances, cooking classes and other community events.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are excited about that space. One of the beautiful things about this for me, is [that we do] as much as we can do, entertain and program for free,\u201d organizer Smith said. \u201cWe want that [space] to be around for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Encanto-Block-Party-10.jpg\")
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Geminelle Malone (right) speaks with a festivalgoer at her booth before performing at the Encanto Block Party Music Festival on Sunday, July 12, 2026. Lauren J. Mapp\/Daylight San Diego<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Encanto-Block-Party-12.jpg\")
People browse vendor booths and food trucks along Imperial Avenue during the Encanto Block Party Music Festival on Sunday, July 12, 2026. Lauren J. Mapp\/Daylight San Diego<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Encanto-Block-Party-07.jpg\")
ESSIENtial Bakes owner Jennifer Essieh talks to customers about her cookies on Imperial Avenue during the Encanto Block Party Music Festival on Sunday, July 12, 2026. Lauren J. Mapp\/Daylight San Diego<\/p>\n
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