{"id":492949,"date":"2026-10-11T20:48:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T20:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/492949\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T20:48:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T20:48:16","slug":"taste-of-soul-takes-over-crenshaw-oct-17-what-to-know-about-the-free-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/492949\/","title":{"rendered":"Taste of Soul takes over Crenshaw Oct. 17. What to know about the free festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Free Taste of Soul festival takes over Crenshaw in South LA<\/p>\n<p>Da\u00f1iel Martinez has more.<\/p>\n<p>Once a year Crenshaw Boulevard comes alive with music, food and celebration at the <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tasteofsoullafest\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Taste of Soul Family Festival<\/a>. What organizers bill as Southern California\u2019s \u201clargest free street festival,\u201d now in its 21st year, takes over nearly three miles between Obama Boulevard and Stocker Street on Saturday, Oct.17.<\/p>\n<p>Come on in, it\u2019s free<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"A large crow fills Crenshaw Boulevard at the 2025 Taste of Soul event. Tents are seen lining the edges of the street.\" data-image-size=\"articleImage\" width=\"672\" height=\"713\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791751695_253_.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p> Crowds fill Crenshaw Boulevard at Taste of Soul.<\/p>\n<p>(<\/p>\n<p>E. Mesiyah McGinnis<\/p>\n<p>\/<\/p>\n<p> Los Angeles Sentinel<\/p>\n<p>)<\/p>\n<p>And \u201cfree\u201d is the operative word.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Coachella, it&#8217;s $500 a ticket. At Taste of Soul, you come free,\u201d said Pamela Bakewell with Bakewell Media, the festival&#8217;s organizer.<\/p>\n<p>Danny J. Bakewell Sr. \u2014 chairman of the organization and Pamela\u2019s brother \u2014 pitched the festival to then-L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe went to him and said, \u2018Look, if they can do these things in New Orleans, then why can&#8217;t we do it in Los Angeles?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"A woman stands next to a man and they pose for a picture. The woman wears a green tank top and hoop earrings. To her right the man wears a black button up shirt and sunglasses, he flashes a peace sign to the camera.\" data-image-size=\"articleImage\" width=\"672\" height=\"566\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791751695_797_.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p> Tiffany Haddish with Danny J. Bakewell Sr. at Taste of Soul 2025.<\/p>\n<p>(<\/p>\n<p>Ian Foxx<\/p>\n<p>\/<\/p>\n<p> Los Angeles Sentinel<\/p>\n<p>)<\/p>\n<p>That first festival in 2005 drew about 25,000 people, according to organizers. Now, some 350,000 people attend every year.<\/p>\n<p>A world of vendors<\/p>\n<p>Organizers say the festival has become an economic boost for small businesses in Southern California, featuring over 100 food vendors of serving a variety of cuisines.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"A food vendor cooks some sort of kebab on a large grill. He wears an apron, with a white shirt underneath. He uses tongs to flip over the kebab. Behind him a man can be seen stirring a large pot with a ladle.\" data-image-size=\"articleImage\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791751696_339_.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p> A food vendor cooks at Taste of Soul 2018.<\/p>\n<p>(<\/p>\n<p>Trarell Torrence<\/p>\n<p>\/<\/p>\n<p> Los Angeles Sentinel<\/p>\n<p>)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s the biggest event that I do all year,\u201d said Brian McMillan, owner of <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thekobblerking.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"text-decoration:none;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Kobbler King<\/a> in South L.A. \u201cPeople place orders after the event. They taste the cobbler; \u200ait sets us up for Thanksgiving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McMillan has been a vendor at Taste of Soul for 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"A man sings with a microphone in his hand, the mic stand is held in his other hand. He wears a blue Dodgers button up shirt. A wide brimmed black hat with a feather in the cap, and white pants.\" data-image-size=\"articleImage\" width=\"672\" height=\"544\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791751696_559_.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p> Montell Jordan performs on the KJLH Music Stage at Taste of Soul 2025.<\/p>\n<p>(<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm Ali<\/p>\n<p>\/<\/p>\n<p> Los Angeles Sentinel<\/p>\n<p>)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou got food from all over. I have a friend from East Africa; his food is some of the best food I&#8217;ve ever had, and it&#8217;s extremely healthy,\u201d McMillan said.<\/p>\n<p>And plenty more to see<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"People sit at a medical booth that says &quot;Watts Healthcare Adult&quot;. A person standing behind the booth wears all black and helps one person sitting down. Several others behind the booth are walking.\" data-image-size=\"articleImage\" width=\"672\" height=\"538\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791751696_301_.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Visitors and staff at the Watts Healthcare tent during Taste of Soul 2025.<\/p>\n<p>(<\/p>\n<p>Ian Foxx<\/p>\n<p>\/<\/p>\n<p> Los Angeles Sentinel<\/p>\n<p>)<\/p>\n<p>McMillan said he relishes seeing different generations of neighbors and customers come by to say hello and get some cobbler.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s like a family reunion, and I think that&#8217;s very important because you don&#8217;t see that with too many festivals at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>      Taste of Soul Family Festival<\/p>\n<p>      When: Saturday, Oct. 17 from 10 to 7 p.m.Cost: Free Where: Crenshaw Boulevard between Obama Boulevard and Stocker Street<br \/>\nHighlights:The event kicks off at 10 a.m. with a parade featuring marching bands from Dorsey and Crenshaw high schools and a drill team from a local church.\u00a0Live performances from gospel to soul and featuring musicians curated by Inglewood radio station <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/kjlhradio.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"text-decoration:none;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">KJLH<\/a>Free health services and screenings including for blood pressure, mammograms and dental and eye exams.<\/p>\n<p>                                    <script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Free Taste of Soul festival takes over Crenshaw in South LA Da\u00f1iel Martinez has more. Once a year&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-492949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}