Taste of Soul: Crenshaw’s Culinary Block Party With Heart
If Los Angeles had a heartbeat you could taste, it would be the Taste of Soul Family Festival on Crenshaw Blvd. Every October the boulevard is shut down and transformed into one giant open-air kitchen meets block party! The kind where the smell of BBQ, fried catfish, jerk chicken, peach cobbler, and funnel cakes all swirl together in the air, calling your name! It’s soul food, Caribbean plates, street desserts, and family recipes being served with the kind of love you can’t DoorDash. They also had one of my personal faves: Chicken garlic noodles!
But Taste of Soul isn’t just about what’s on the plate. It’s the energy. Live music on each end of the boulevard, dancing to artists such as Estelle, Rose Royce, The Mary Jane Girls, and Cameo in front of the stage as well as vendors selling shea butter and incense, local artists exhibits, choirs, community and job-focused panel discussions, and generations of Angelenos showing up and showing out.
It’s joy. It’s culture. It’s community preservation in real time.
If you’re a foodie, you’ll be in heaven.
If you’re just hungry for community, this is where you’ll find it.
No ticket. No VIP wristband. Just pull up, walk the boulevard, and let the day feed you in more ways than one. See you on Crenshaw next October! I’ll be the one trying to balance a camera in one hand and a peach cobbler in the other!
