By The Oakland Post
Downtown Richmond is set to come alive with soulful sounds of some the Bay Area most coveted R&B, Soul and Funk bands at the 11th annual Spirit & Soul Festival on Sat. Sept. 21, 2019.
Richmond Main Street Initiative (RMSI) presents the Bay Area’s premier party band Pride and Joy and classic by Top Shelf. Other show stoppers include Buttah Buttahfly with her renditions of music by the late Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin and appearing on the Spirit & Soul stage for the first time is songstress Kyla Dawn.
RMSI will also honor several champions of including Adonna O’Sullivan (Kaiser Permanente), Lucinda Bazille (Lifelong Medical Center), Charlene Smith (East Center for Performing Arts), Bessanderson McNeil (Snazz) and Aparicio Family (Your Way Pizza). Past honorees include Betty Reid Soskin (National Park Service) and Janet Johnson (City of Richmond).
RMSI invites everyone to Downtown to enjoy music, food, and fun for the entire family.
Both events will feature a beverage booth serving up refreshing Main Street Margaritas and hometown brews by East Brother Beer Company, with proceeds of sales benefitting RMSI programs.
Concert-goers of all ages are sure to enjoy a diverse array of artisan and food vendors offering unique items and delicious eats, informational booths, interactive activities, youth zone, free book fair, giveaways, prizes and Freshest Cargo Mobile Farmers’ Market.
Admission is free and all ages are welcome. The Spirit & Soul festival is conveniently located near the Richmond Transit Station on Macdonald Avenue, home to BART, Amtrak, AC Transit, and R-Transit. Special paid VIP seating is available. Check the Richmond Mains Street Spirit & Soul website www.richmondmainstreet.org for details.
Richmond Main Street Initiative is a community based non-profit dedicated to revitalizing historic downtown Richmond. RMSI partners with the City of Richmond, merchants, and residents to develop and improve downtown Richmond as a pedestrian-friendly urban village that offers products, services, arts and entertainment that reflect the community’s rich and diverse heritage. The DRPBID district encompasses the core of the Historic Downtown area along the Macdonald Avenue corridor bounded approximately by 6th Street, Barrett Avenue, Bissell Avenue, and 16th Street. For more information and to read about the RMSI’s events and programs, please visit www.richmondmainstreet.org and www.facebook.com/richmondmainstreet.
Spirit & Soul is sponsored by San Francisco Bay Ferry, Mechanics Bank, Cooperative Center, Credit Union, Kaiser, Sims Metal Management, AC Transit, LifeLong Medical Center, East Brother Beer Company, SparkPoint, Republic Services, and City of Richmond. Additional support comes from volunteers and the Downtown Richmond Property and Business Improvement District (DRPBID).
This article originally appeared in Oakland Post.
