Oakland Art & Soul Festival

The BBOY completion was lit! So awesome! Giving 4 stars only because I feel $ 12 is a bit much. Had fun nonetheless! Beautiful gospel singers, tons of vendors and good food! (Although the «ranch» for the chicken strips was more like sour cream. Weird).

Date: 8÷2÷2015 Time: 2:10 PM 72° Sunny and warm
It has been about 12 years or so since I attended the Oakland Art & Soul Festival. Back when this event first started in 2001, admission was free. The following year (2002) was the 150^th birthday of the City of Oakland. Enough with the history…
Fast forward to this year and my husband paying the senior citizen rate of $ 7.00 each, I am not complaining in getting the discount rate. Enjoy the moment while I can.
Ambiance: beaucoup people in the food lines and the different stage areas. Plenty of high priced food, which is just average at best. Catfish nuggets on a bed of garlic fries, $ 12; bottled water (16.9 oz.), $ 2.00. Part of the 14^th Street and Clay Street areas had the arts ‘n crafts vendors, Golden 1 Credit Union representatives, Sandre Swanson and Rob Bonta booths, PG&E, I Hella Heart Oakland, even a cannabis booth, etc.
Freebies: One canvas tote bag from Golden 1 Credit Union and ink pen, ink pen from PG&E, a pair of ballet flats for making a $ 10 donation to Friends of Faith (in remembrance of the late Faith Fancher), a pair of free Oaklandish stickers, a green Chicobag from Oakland Recycles (after I spun their wheel and guessed where the leftover box of food goes — compost).
Eats: Catfish nuggets and garlic fries. Catfish nuggets were okay; garlic fries were overwhelmingly salty as hell — non edible (1 star… me thinks not). Dang, I can’t really say what is saltier, the garlic fries or the attitude/​comments of former GS Warriors’ Coach Mark Jackson… ha!
Highlight of the late afternoon: Sheila E. performing on the main stage and it’s standing room only. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!!! Let’s get this party started. Raise yo hand in the air like ya don’t care and let me hear ya scream… Sheila E!!! In the house, honey!!!
Drawbacks: Street parking is difficult. It’s recommended that the use of public transportation (AC Transit, BART) would be more conducive than driving. Eat elsewhere before entering the event. Food from the various vendors are high priced, meh and not worth the value.
I have been gone too long from this annual event, but I’m back to shake it on down to some Oaktown funk. I will return, but not for them salty-​a** garlic fries or any of the other high priced unhealthy, greasy food items.

Ehhhh this used to be a fun festival with free parking in the garage adjacent to the festival. Now, you can’t park for free… entry workers darn near acting like Gestapo and I guess for the local vendors that can’t afford that exorbitant booth rental they’re forced outside on the outskirts of the festival
I used to look forward to it… meh

Went to see Pacific Mambo Orchestra, the highlight of the event as far as I was concerned. The bass was so loud it was beyond painful, you couldn’t even hear the band. I asked the sound guy to do please turn it down and he refused. Very very disappointing. There wasn’t a problem with the previous band’s sound system.

Wonderful festival with tons of freebies, free massage, samples, southern food, and several stages of fun music.
Garage parking available close to the entrance. Sweet!
$ 15 entrance.
Very nice crowd!
Recommended!

Oakland knows how to throw down. For $ 15 bucks at the door (or $ 10 advance). Music, art and food!

Most of the venue was very well organized, with a HUGE exception of the main stage. The cost of entrance to the festival was $ 15 a person which should have included the viewing of headliners Goapele & Tower of Power but sadly didn’t. The main stage was fenced off with one entrance/​exit with a line over a block long (no exaggeration) due to over seating. WACK!!!

It’s August 21^st 2011, a friend invited me to check out Goapele and Tower of Power at the Art & Soul concert in Oakland. I thought to myself, sounds like a good show. Unexpectedly I was transported back, 40 yrs to August 21^st 1973, here’s a link:
Take it to the bridge fellas!
I could never make you unhappy
cause I love you so
(So very hard to go)
Oh, I love you so
So very hard to goooo
Alright, I’m feeling it! Where’s Don Cornelius? How about Rerun?!? There he goes, check it out:
Where’s the scrabble letters? I sure wish they’d get it wrong for once. Let me do it. I’ll really mess the name up!
I’m at «The hippest trip in America» right now. Great atmosphere, some of my favorite music and food. I had chicken tenders and fried catfish with garlic fries, believe it or not some of the best I’ve had in a while.
Goapele and Tower of Power were great. The Art & Soul Festival is a nice event for an August Sunday afternoon. Nothing is better than a little music and food to soothe my soul. The Art & Soul Festival actually really had a Soul Train line! A good time in the O.
This is Mike, and as always in parting. We wish you peace, love, and Soul!

This is the first year I attended the Art & Soul Fest, and I only went because I noticed CAKE was playing for $ 10. However, the day was thoroughly enjoyable, and I will definitely find my way back in the future.
Some of the highlights included free samples of just about everything (along with games, prizes, and more free re-​usable bags than you could ever need), great food, the opportunity to help paint a community mural, and fantastic music all day.

Oakland ART AND SOUL 2010 may of been the best one of the ten year history of the event.
The 2010 event focused on the «Music of Oakland» and bought forth some of Oakland’s greatest musical acts to perform… For the simply price of $ 20-​fans got to see performances from Larry Graham, Richy Rich, Too Short (sort of), En Vogue, Toni Tony Tone, MC Hammer, Sheila E, John Santos, Pete Escavedo, and many more.
Simply put, all the acts kicked major ass!
The only downside to the event this year was that due to downsizing there was no salsa stage this year. However, since the San Jose Salsa festival was also happening the same weekend, it may of been difficult for organizers to lineup a band.
Another downside to this event is that the seating/​standing room around any of the stages is cramped at best… For example, if you wanted to see MC Hammer or En Vogue at 5pm, then that meant you had to get a spot near the stage at least three to four hours BEFORE their scheduled apperance-​or you were going to be in for a shock when you came back.
One of the hidden upsides to the festival is the fact that it IS the best place to meet sexy Black women in the bay…
Take my advice guys… Sunday afternoon at ART and SOUL is where you want to be if you want to meet some beautiful black women looking for a nice guy…
Just remember to keep the beer out of your hand when you’re trying to spit some game… lol

Sunday.
In a word: IMPRESSED.
Very impressed. I haven’t been to this caliber of festival ever in my life. The closest to this was the annual Festival at the Lake events that I went to as a kid.
Highlights:
$ 1 huge ass watermelon slices
free bbq rib samples
tons of space
different stages/​venues/​areas for all types
lots of food vendors selling southern food!
community health booths
free honey wine samples
great music
EN VOGUE!!!
Not all was perfect: the main stage area was packed beyond belief but there was no drama and everyone was friendly. They should expand that area next year. The entrance and exit situation was precarious; trampling accident waiting to happen.
So lovely to see Oakland do Oakland so well. I read a positive article in the Chronicle on Saturday about the AnS Festival which made me feel good because the mainstream Bay Area media loves to talk so much shiz about Oakland.
5 stars because best festival I’ve ever been too. So proud of you Oakland!

As soon as I heard Cake was performing at this year’s festival, I was there. We sat through the performance right before Cake even though it wasn’t my style but because of it we sat fourth row, front and center for Cake. Well worth the $ 10 presale tickets, plus, we caught the tail end of MC Hammer’s set. Definitely a smoothly run event that I’ll attend next year.

***This review is for the Sunday event only***
What a well organized event. Being on it’s 10^th year, this is the first time I have attended this festival since I try to avoid crowded events. However, I really enjoyed myself at this particular event.
The main stage for the concert was a bit crowded. Well if you have En Vouge, Tony! Toni! Tone’!, Sheila E. and Club Noveau performing it’s understandable.
Admission is $ 10 (pre-​purchased) $ 15 at the door, $ 8 for seniors and children (13 – 17) kids 12 and under are FREE.
Lucky’s had a Food Style Pavilion Stage where local chefs from Nex, Miss Pearl’s Jam House, B Restaurant, Scott’s Seafood Grill & Bar were there to demonstrate their craft.
Rosenblum Cellars wines were there to offer a variety of samples of their quality vino. The $ 5 sampling fee (three tastings) contributes to Art & Soul’s support of handcraft artisans and local musicians.
Music, art’s and crafts booths, children activities, food and booze covered more than 5 blocks of downtown Oakland.
«Art & Soul has also been voted Best Annual Event by the East Bay Express in their 2010 Readers Poll.»

I’m a little torn on how to rate this. 2009 was not doubt a FIVE, but 2010 was only a THREE. I guess FOUR would be the average. I’m not criticizing the music… that’s always good. I think 2010, the lineup for the main stage may have been too good (En Vogue, Tony Toni Tone, Sheila E, etc.)…making it too crowded. I’m accustomed to crowded festivals, but I’ve always been able to make my way to the music. It was way to complicated this time. I did manage to make it near the other stages and that was wonderful. I’d give it more stars for 2010 if I didn’t spend the majority of my time maneuvering through crowds and waiting in lines.

They really got it together this year.
Art & Soul has grown into a great event, with rides for the kids, booze for the adults, junk food for everyone, and plenty of music, all for a $ 10 entry fee (prepurchased) that helps maintain the whole multi-​block scene. The arts & crafts booths were a bit better this year, with a greater variety of home-​grown art and tchotchkes. I binged on the great homemade reprints of vintage Oaktown photos. While I was sad to see no Linden St. beers on the menu, Rosenblum put out a great spread of wine, including an amazing $ 5 tasting session with their friendly and fun staff.
In the end, we were all there for Cake, and the show didn’t disappoint. I have to compliment this year’s security staff – in the past, the weird rule about keeping random aisles clear at all costs meant that a bunch of obnoxious guards spent the whole show yelling at the audience. This year, they hired some great folks. They kept the aisles clear by engaging the crowd, explaining the situation, and most significantly, by acting as ushers to guide the crush of people into the right spots. When a security guard rushes up to you to point out that there’s a better, ‘legal’ spot to the left, five rows up – that’s professional. And they seemed to be having fun, too.
The truly Oaklandish moment occurred halfway through the show, when my friend pointed out the elderly Asian couple sitting in front of us, clapping to the music and tapping their canes on the pavement. I think the wife heard us, because she stood up, walked over to our group, and started dancing with our crowd… rocking out to «Comfort Eagle.»
We were building a religion, we were calling her «Dude.»

this is a great time in the city of Oakland. My son and I went and walked the streets enjoying the local artisans work. I even got to be apart of some art by painting on the wall. There were great things for all race shapes and sizes. The music was the bomb ranging from gospel to jazz. Oh and the food, talk about yummy! there was so much I could hardly decide. Plenty of water and fresh fruit. I am a sucker for fresh cut water melon on a steamy Oakland day! It was free to get in, and free to park .hey what more could a budget friendly day trip need?
The downside was the crowds and the distance between the venues for the different musical acts. Other than that, I say when it comes around again next year I am sooo there, working on my black girl tan as I pa-​ruse the art and snap my lovely fingers to the grooves!

Parking? $ 5.
Admission? $ 10.
Polish Hot Dog w/​bell peppers? $ 6.
Dope local music & art, splurgelicious yummy food & drinks, great company, diverse Oakland crowd, & dozens of children shakin’ it to Michael Jackson hits on stage for almost half an hour? Priceless.

$ 10 goes a long way!
Tons of food, great music & entertainment, fabulous weather, diverse crowd, fun art & crafts & other random knickknacks.
Another reason to loveeeeee the Bay Area :)

Oakland does this One right! They shutdown four streets and six stages of music and dancing. Lots of food venue and Heinekin all over. Me, myself I like the salsa music and the funk bands. The diversity of Oakland is amazing from young to old, all colors of the rainbow.
About the music because I wasn’t reilly checking out the art. The salsa band I saw La Colectiva I think I saw them at the San Jose Jazz festival.
The Indigo girls, wow they are extremely popular with the females and they will run you ass over to see them. My friend (male) thought that we were going to get our asses kicked if we didn’t move… lol. I didn’t finish this event because I could not deal with the standing room stampede. It was sponsered by KFOG.
My favorite act was Everyday People, they were a Sly and The Family Stone act. They got the crowd up on their feet and dancing, everyone young and old. This was well worth the $ 10.00 spent.
Tommorow is the last day of this 3 day event…

I have been to this festival two times and love it! Dope vendors, an array of music and art, and definitely interesting people.
I believe this annually happens Labor day weekends, and each time, the weather has been scorching hot!
One year, I do not know what got into this man, but he was wearing a furry hat and jacket with the funniest outfit. Well, this perv (excuse the term, but that is what he was), squished his way between this lady (whom by the way had a round dairy aire) and another person, acting like he was just trying to get by, and kept chanting «Too Much Ass», as he drooled down his chin…
Cost for the faire, $ 10 bucks or so… Moments like that= Priceless!