The Taste of Soul

My first time going and it did not disappoint! I was able to find unique items. There were vendors from health to food to anything in between. If you have not attended The Taste of Soul do not hesitate!

Oh what a time we had... This was my first year attending this Soul Festival and it was very soulful from the music to the dancing and the food...Let's not forget the people (Beautiful people). There was so many people and vendors from community organization to small business. My favorite part was watching random people start dancing as they were walking through the crowd (WHERE DEM FANS AT?...AAAAYE). One suggestion is to add those industrial Street Mist Fans and more free water stations. It was tooooo hot. The food was amazing. I had fish and fries and pecan pie. My friend had ribs, mac & cheese, potato salad and Peach Cobbler (She wasn't too pleased with the quality). Overall, it was a great time and I will go back next year but plan differently.

It was a great experience! It was my second time attending, both were good. I enjoyed the music. They have a little bit of something for everyone, on the various stages. I always look forward to the food, which was really good. My only criticism would be the prices were really high. It reminded me of amusement park prices. The good news is you can bring in your own food and seats to minimize the damage, but it's worth the experience to taste something authentic from the event. The kids in our group weren't too impressed. They were tired of walking and felt like there wasn't enough for kids to do. I would agree. One of my favorite things was "people watching", and the Angelinos didn't disappoint! Looking forward to the next one.

I've been to this Festival a couple times and I have to say it's very upbeat and very exciting to see people come out from all walks of life to a part of this GREAT community event!! It's just what we need to have more of in this community because it brings ALL people together. Thank you Taste Of Soul for bringing this event back to us once again. God bless!

There was so much variety of food to choose from by the time I chose the tllines were too catch my flight from lax. Thw people the fun the music was all amazing. Everyone said hello to everyone was also amazing. Happy 20 years!

There’s nothing to experience here. Taste of soul is nothing but long lines and ill prepared businesses. And to be around for 20 years and not figure out how to make it more engaging just goes to show that the community is not asking for more than what they deserve. There should be interactive things happening throughout the day so people who are waiting in lines have something to do. It really feels much better advertise than the actual event is to take part in. Also, parking is poorly advertised for this event. They partner with so many different community members… Yet, they can partner with Metro to provide discounted rides or something to the area? Or even shuttle services around the area?

This is a great event in Los Angeles. Food, Varities, Drinks such as Lemonades,Entertainment and Social Interaction was amazing. The key is to get in early and out before dusk otherwise you will get caught up in traffic. Me and my family will be there next year Gods willing😉

I came all the way from Las Vegas, and the WAVE stage was out of control. I couldn't see the performances for the umbrellas and patio umbrellas. Please there have got to be a better way. What happened to the dance floor near the stage this year?

Beautiful day. Beautiful people. Great food. Great music. Beautiful art. Grew up here and have NEVER been. Went with hubby and the kids and we all had an amazing time. Would love to go back next year.

Outstanding event, huge crowd, great entertainment, phenomenal food. Was great to be back in Los Angeles with all my peeps, family and friends.

One of my favorite festivals in Los Angeles. Started in 2005 by Danny Bakewell, Sr, creator of The Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper. Taking place on the 2nd Saturday of October every year, the Taste of Soul is a big community block party with over 250 vendors with food, beverages and a few entertainment stages. The event draws over 200K visitors, in a single day. Always a great time for the entire family.

Families all around the globe celebrate nationalities love joy pride expression come and see for yourself

Great community event. Easily 100+ good stands and other informational types of stands. There were several stages with great musical entertainment.

I have never been to Taste of Soul before this year and I'm so glad that I went, a lot of the vendors included barbecue and fried foods there was not one option for a salad or a meal with a vegetable. The vendors were not homemade craft tables but rather wholesale items you can find downtown or anywhere really... it was very crowded and that makes sense because of all the things going on they had some great performances from awesome singers and songwriters but I will never ever come again. Complete waste of time. It's almost as if they don't think black people would like anything but fried foods, bbq, and alcohol that was all they offered it's kind of a play on the community and its really annoying.

Taste of Soul Gave me LIFE!!!! This was my second year attending and I was not disappointed. The event gets packed beyond belief, so if you are not a fan of crowds, this probably is not the place for you. Crenshaw is shutdown from Stocker to Rodeo and filled with Food, Music and Vendors! I love the exorbitant amount of small business owners! I was able to purchase everything from t-shirts to weaves! lol. There were e large stages. One with Gospel, One Old School and one with R&B (There may have been a 4th stage, but I don't remember). I loved the variety. Parking and Lyfting is a nightmare. There were so many people that you could barely get reception to call a car. TIP: If you drive, park at the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw mall and walk over. It is a family affair, but I would sway away from bringing really small children because it was just too crowded.

After years of wanting to go I finally made it to the Taste of Soul. Thankfully we took the Expo Line because I have no idea where one would park. The streets surrounding the event are blocked off. Unfortunately, this year's event fell on a really hot day. I will say despite the weather the turn out was large. As for the food vendors, too much friend food and the options just seemed ok. I ended up eating a tri tip sandwich with mac and cheese. It was good but, way over priced in my opinion. I also, enjoyed the pineapple pina coladas. Sadly, there was nowhere to sit so we ended up on a curve eating our food. After walking around some more we ended up at the cooling station(thank god for that). We wanted to stay longer to enjoy the music but, there simply was no where to sit. If you didn't bring a lawn chair you were standing in the blazing sun. I really think the organizers need to find a way to have a large tent for people to enjoy the music. I will say that the Wave had one but, they were charging $20 to enter, no thanks. Lastly,the retail vendors were simply meh, nothing they sold was of interest to me. While I'm glad I finally got to check this event out, I won't be attending again.

Loved the event. Safety was not an issue. The heat was the only thing not my friend. But I loved ever bit of it was well organized and very well put together. I am amazed and truly blessed.

Great idea but not so great execution. First of all, it is waaay too crowded that you can't even walk especially at the entrance and exit. They should not allow people to set up chairs and camp out in front of the stages at the ends. It makes it really difficult to enter and exit the festival or see the performers. Also they should not allow other vendors to blare music right across from the stages. This drowns out the music being featured. Second, I was disappointed in the food vendors. No impressive soul food that I found and too much FRIED and unhealthy food. Including fried brocolli! I understand fried is part of soul food but they can offer other things that are also soul food. Third, not enough art vendors. Not impressed with the retail vendor selection either. Blah! I came excited to have good soul food and hear good music but left tired of too many people and disappointed. They should also pick a wider street or extend the area to accommodate such a large crowd. Pros: easy breezy transportation via the expo line. No worries about parking! Enjoyed what I could of the music considering the cons listed above. Free! I doubt I would return to this street festival and I love street festivals.

This is a free family event that Danny Bakewell that put together for everyone since 2005. This event is on October on Crenshaw Blvd and stretches from Stocker St to Rodeo Rd. They offer shuttle rides in designated areas. There's plenty of vendors that stretch along the walkway if Crenshaw Blvd. The venders consist of many foods, clothing, jewerly, beauty supply, hair salons, health test, informational booth and etc.... There is a Gospel stage, The Wave stage and KJLH stage. The stage's consist of different performing artistes, from non celebrities to celebrities. They have a children area where they can get face painting done and play games. Some of the children even performed in a competition on the Wave Stage. (NO ONE'S A LOOSER EITHER) This event is from 10:00 am -7:00pm and it gets very crowded. It gets into the hundred thousands so get there early. And don't forget your lawn chair.

Super fun festival. Lots of great music and great to see people of color be able to get together and congregate. I came from SD to come to this festival and the drive was def worth it. If you have never been come out, you won't be disappointed.

Great family fun. Lot's of good information & resources. I'll be back next year. That's it

I took the lil one with me this year and i had an absolute BLAST!!! the lil one not as impressed because she wanted to hit the beach which we did after dad got his groove on everyone their was happy positive & festive except one lil girl...smh

This was my first experience at Taste of Soul and it definitely won't be my last Was really nice seeing so much diversity in one spot and the music was definitely THE reason to attend. I do feel like there are a couple of things that could be greatly improved on that would make Taste of Soul THE event of LA and not just Crenshaw: 1) Increase a diversity non-food vendors : There are lots of great craftspeople in Los Angeles, would have loved to see more of them: shea butter manufacturers, handmade crafts (there were a few on 39th but you had to happen to be walking on 39th), Reiki and other wellness practitioners, etc. 2) Yeah, like everyone else: food prices were astronomical. One person could easily spend $20 on one spot That seems to defeat the purpose of a "taste" I'm not certain how stall rentals and whatnot factor into the pricing, but I really don't see how its a win-win for anyone.

From 2011-2013 I attended this wonderful event right in the heart of Crenshaw Blvd right around mid October, which is my birthday month yay! Local vendors, shows and such line up the street. I was luck enough to catch a performance by R&B star Mario the last time I came. Pretty cool. They have a Krispy Kreme donuts shop that is open during the event. It is always jam packed. You will always see various news stations reporters handing out autographs and I taking pictures! My suggestion is that they need way more food vendors. People come to this street festival in the thousands. That means they need to get cranking on them meals! I have tried various foods here, from spaghetti to chicken to Jamaican dishes as well. Forgot what it was, but it was damn tasty! Overall, this is an event that everybody should attend. It is jam packed crowded here. Bring blankets and chairs, as they have performances later in the evening. Parking is a hot mess. They'll let you park in some of the parking lots. Other than that, be prepared to walk a great deal. Just Uber it or bus it! Its worth coming here! Think I'll be back this upcoming month!

This was so much fun! Lots and lots of food, dancing, crafts, and just a great time to be had by all. Bring plenty of money and comfortable shoes. It gets very crowded and the lines to eat are quite long but it's worth it.

There will be no parking so mentally and emotionally prepare yourself to walk 7 blocks or more. For a huge a event like this in this area, the cops are hounds for parking violations and tickets so please read the signs and don't park even an inch in front of someone's driveway. There will be thousands of people. They need more food vendors!!! The lines for the few vendors they had were at the least 20 plus people. Clearly this event needs to expand to accommodate the amount of people that attend. The artist & performances were fun and in that aspect they did very well. P.S. Take side streets when trying to leave and avoid Crenshaw. You'll thank me later. Traffic is at least an hour or so.

Good family time to walk, eat, and be entertained. The last standing block party that i know of in Los Angeles. Ladies dancing and playing double dutch in the street. Soul food smells of barbeque, fried cat fish, Caribbean flavors and so on fill the air. Live professional performances on three different stages. Plenty of food, fun, sun, and exercise. Bring your cold water bottles.

I attended the taste of Soul over the weekend and it was nice to see so many people gathering together having a good and safe time. However, I do have a complaint. Although I came to the event with the notion that I would buy certain goods and clothing (which I purchased), I was completely floored by the astronomical prices of the food. One vendor was charging $15 for and cheeseburger and $6 for a strawberry lemonade! That's really ridiculous. It seems vendors are purposely increasing their prices for the festival, and over charging festival goers due to the event. Its really ridiculous. I bought a fish dinner from Shabazz Seafood and it was fairly priced at $15, but other vendors were completely taking advantage of festival goers. Another vendor charged $21.95 for a turkey LEG - that's the cost of a small turkey! I'm just suggesting that the Taste of Soul LA, consider speaking to their vendors about the prices they are charging. It's really unfair to families - especially with multiple children - and all patrons of this event. Many people who attend are lower income, and cannot afford these prices. Also, people will be reluctant to visit the vendor's business outside of the festival due to their price gouging. It's really distasteful and obviously manipulative. Outside of that I had a lovely time. It was wonderful seeing so many cheerful and happy faces. But, I didn't stay as long as I would've like due to others in my group being disappointed with the food prices. I think a $15 Cheeseburger and a $21.95 Turkey Leg is a bit much.

cant ask for much more for a free festival. Great food, music with celebrity performances, and a bunch of info booths handing out lots of cool and free goodies such as water bottles, sun glasses, etc. I've paid money in the past to get into festivals that didnt offer nearly as much. And with so many people I didnt run across in drama or conflict... just a bunch of people having a good time. Yes parking/traffic/crowds can get to be a pain. After a good 45min of roaming for parking and waiting at one of the free shuttle parking lots for a shuttle that never came, I ran into one of the designated parking lots at Audubon Middle School that was only a short walk away. They had a decent amount of parking left before noon and there were 2 volunteers who stayed at the parking so your car is not left alone. As far as the crowds... the earlier the better. There was definite increase in people from when we first arrived and later in the day where its hard to move around and the lines get extremely long. Plus there was some pretty decent free goodies that would likely run out if you come too late.

2017 was my husband and I first time going to the taste of soul. The food was great and entertainment was awesome. We danced our feet off. And the music brought back a lot of memories. And the best part of the day. Was to meet pat prescott from the wave back stage. And had our picture with her. We are diffently planning on going October 2018 taste of soul. Rollins and Leslie the dancers.

Not a family event. Came for good food and music, and was blasted with political BS. Saw a lot of intolerance and divisiveness, and ignorance. You get what you give in this one and only life-the life we all share on this planet.

Had a great time with my family there. Looking forward to going again next year!!

Wish they would reconsider my company attending next year. Coordinator won't allow us to have a vendor booth this year. All we did last year was sign up over 100 new students and kept at least 30 people at our booth all day. Pretty sure the guests loved us in the community, just wish the event coordinators actually reviewed our commitment to the community and how we impact ladies of all sizes getting into shape. They won't let us this year because they say they don't want The Mayor and other government officials to see us on the pole. Romance and Dance pole aerobics

Well this event is a must be part of. If you like jazz well this soul festival will have 94.7 the wave all day. Its a great event from the community. I live in Montebello and every year I visit the event know as soul festival. They have food from different servicers only on that day with different stage events and local assistance that participate on this events. Every year there's about 200,000 people walking around at the soul festival on Crenshaw and Martin Luther king to Crenshaw north and rodeo Dr. This Saturday on 10/17/2015 Crenshaw will host. Soul festival. Its an all day event. See you there.

I didn't expect to see such a big crowd. It was a free event for admission for food was not cheap. Nevertheless, the lines for food were long. It was great to see many vendors got rewarded well for their hard work. It was certainly not easy to feed so many under the condition where the food booths were set up. There were a lot of food to choose from, the problem was we couldn't try more than one kind as I didn't even finish the goat curry that I bought. I would like to see the vendors serving sample size food so that we could really have a real taste of soul. Another problem was there was no place to sit down to enjoy the meal unless one brought his/her own chair. Overall, I was impressed by how clean they kept the place, the staff constantly cleared the trash cans to make room for more. They even have temporary sinks set up outside of the portable toilets. I heard that parking was challenging and had was happy that I could get there by taking the Metro Expo Line that was within walking distance to Crenshaw/Rodeo.

Always a fun event! The event is free, but you have to pay for any food! It is very crowded but lines at the food stands, for the most part, move quickly. Take the Metro Expo line instead of driving!