Oakland Art & Soul Festival

I've been to the Art & Soul Festival more times than I can remember, way before I started Yelping. I remember it starting a few years after they canceled the Festival At The Lake. Lots of food vendors, stages, etc, but the best thing I like about this Festival is the Oakland vibe. Every time I go, it reminds me of Festival At The Lake or Hip-Hop On The Green. Especially near the main stage when the main artists are doing their thing. This year was no different. Yes, the $15 entrance fee and $5 parking was higher than last year, but it was worth it to me, I don't mind paying if I'm enjoying myself. Keep doing you Oakland!!!

I honestly feel that this event is over priced.You pay to enter the event. The vendors have very pricey items.

The Oakland Art & Soul Festival is held the 3rd weekend of August. They basically block off 12th St along with some of the neighboring intersections near the City Center. We stopped by for just a few hours on a Sunday afternoon, right after lunch. This turned out to be a big mistake, since we were too full to enjoy all that BBQ, Cajun cuisine, and funnel cakes!Entrance: $12/pp with re-entry allowed. Security was pretty smooth and not much of a line.Food: Bombzies had the most impressive booth. Large grill area with huge turkey legs and sausages sizzling away. The smell was intoxicating! Another cool place was Cacao, which offered a deconstructed chicken and waffle in the form of a cupcake. We were too full to order food, but took advantage of the free ice cream cups (vanilla, strawberry, chocolate) offered by Humboldt.Shopping: They have pretty decent deals ($20) on sustainable headware - large brimmed sun hats or fedoras made from recycled paper straw. My wife also picked up a few tanktops ($20/2) with some cool designs.Music/Dance: We saw one belly dance exhibit and a cool Blues Band on the Clay Street Stage. Other: There were a few rides available for kids and wine and beer booths for adults. For the real fitness buffs, the Marines even set up a pull-up bar (Yikes!)Overall, a fun festival worth visiting. I like how the festival celebrates Oakland and its diverse culture.

I really had a great time at this year's festival! I decided to be a social butterfly, so while walking around, I stopped at a lot of the booths, chatting with people and learning what they offering.A lot of them have freebies! Just joined Patelco Credit Union, and they gave me a great goodie bag. Got a first aid kit from AAA, a bag and water bottle from 311 (Oakland City Maintenance), and a host of other free stuff.Bought some great skirts and my juice man (Hidden Star Orchards) was there! I always get excited when I see them because they no longer sell at the farmer's market I go to. Food-wise, I tried the chicken teriyaki with noodles. Good, but not something I would try again. I also bought a smoked turkey leg to go, and ate on it for a few days.On the way out, I stopped at a food vendor selling some of the best lemonade I have ever tasted in my life!I went on Sunday, so the music was more local, but from what I paid attention to, it was all good.The vibe was nice and the weather was perfect! Can't wait to attend again next year.

Came early cuz parking is limited. I got my 10k steps in. It was a bright & sunny day.Lots of ethnic & local vendors, including food vendors. The cost was reasonable at $8 for seniors, $15 youth, and $17 general. I bought a chicken wing combo which included garlic fries & 3 big azz wings for $10. I was full on wing #1 but ate all of them cuz there was no homeless folks in the fest to give the rest to. The surely couldn't afford the admission price.I ended up purchasing a beautiful handmade .935 silver ring for $50.00. The vendor was kind enough to clean the rings on my fingers. What I love about Bay fests is seeing the sea of diversity and assures me that the recent influx of millennials hasn't killed the flava of my beloved, Oakland - aka "The Town"!I also just got my hair cut & over 100 people let me know they were digging on my fresh crown. YAHOO!Let the church say, "Amen!"

We came from Arizona to check out the Oakland Art & Soul Festival. We're so damn glad we did! It was exactly what we needed. Color, cool weather, breezes, water, good food, smiling faces ..... just a different scene from Arizona. Locals told us the festival isn't as fun as it used to be but we had a blast and plan to give it a shot again!

Date: 8/2/2015 Time: 2:10 PM 72° Sunny and warmIt 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 150th 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 14th 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.

Thanks to Yelp I won two tickets to the Oakland's Art and Soul Festival. Oakland does know how to put on a great event that highlights what makes Oakland special--the diversity of the people who live here. This festival celebrates this diversity with music, dance, art and food.I had planned to go on Saturday, a better music day, but I had someplace else to go. There were long lines at the ticket booths on Sunday. However, the line moved quickly, the mandatory purse check was fast. Once inside the blocked off streets it did not seem busy at all. I suppose people quickly dispersed over several blocks to enjoy the food and music.I wandered by all the booths and even purchased a sweat shirt that says Born and Raised in Oakland. Although the festival says local food and drink I did see a couple of stands that I'm pretty sure are not based in Oakland. That doesn't matter; most of them did to seem to be Oakland businesses. I spend a lot of time checking out all the community organizations that lined the street. Even more than the music and food they made me realize how much I miss living in Oakland!

I went on Sunday had a blast, Tone Tony Toni gave a great performance, the vendors were all different a big selection of different kinds of foods and apparel. I have been going to this event for years and will continue come.

What a great and lively event! Honestly didnt expect much from this event since door tickets were only $12 but man was I wrong!!!Such a great vibe with amazing artists and bands that kept it groovey! I saw Adrian Marcel and was totally fangirling with my BFF.Food was amazing, performances were even better! Saw a live dance competition and loved how brave the kids were to dance in front of such a big crowd!Will be back next year!