Oakland holds 19th annual Street Fest
Downtown festival a hit
Katrina Johnson
Issue date: 9/7/06 Last update: 9/7/06 at 6:16 PM PST
Section: Features
- Page 1 of 1
For two days, downtown Oakland's Chinatown came to life with entertainment and several vendors selling diverse goods.
The uneven, cigarette-strewn pavement was transformed into grounds on which several businesses and people ventured to promote and buy services and goods.
Franklin, 8th, and 9th streets came alive with hundreds of attendees and several sellers promoting everything from Tai Chi exercises to the Thunder Valley Casino.
On Sunday afternoon, the weather was mild and breezy with not a cloud to be seen, perfect for dedicating a good amount of time to watching the various performances and browsing the booths.
The alluring stands were offering a variety of jewelry, statuettes, and Chinese ornaments. There was an overwhelming variety of jade jewelry and other jade items. They even had imitation jade elephants.
The smell of BBQ permeated the atmosphere so one had to inevitably try some. Particularly popular were the Korean BBQ beef sticks served as kebabs. The kettle corn stand was another hit, offering irresistible sweet and salty popcorn. Another major fare in the dining section was the variety of smoothies, including ones that were dairy-free.
Besides all of the delicious food, there was also plenty of entertainment. There were two separate stages that had a variety of acts going on simultaneously.
One act, NuVerz, a five-member pop band, performed on the kid's stage. They covered songs from the likes of Montell Jordan to Beyoncé Knowles .
Down the street on the other stage was Sinister Dexter, an impressive ensemble with several brass instruments.
They introduced many different musical influences, but producing the sounds of funk was their main goal.The musicians and singers were talented, but at times the saxophone became quite shrill and had the tendency to drown out the lead singer.
However, once the appropriate sound of balanced acoustics was found, they were quite enjoyable. At the end of their set they covered Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" which got several people dancing. It was quite an energetic way to end the weekend's performances.
The festival seemed to go efficiently and it was obvious that the public enjoyed themselves. The majority of people decided to depart around 6 p.m. when the vendors began to pack up.
Richard White, a member of the festival staff mentioned that Sunday had been busier due to the pleasant weather and when asked about his weekend there, his reply was; "Always a good time."
Expect next year to offer more good sights, sounds and times!
The uneven, cigarette-strewn pavement was transformed into grounds on which several businesses and people ventured to promote and buy services and goods.
Franklin, 8th, and 9th streets came alive with hundreds of attendees and several sellers promoting everything from Tai Chi exercises to the Thunder Valley Casino.
On Sunday afternoon, the weather was mild and breezy with not a cloud to be seen, perfect for dedicating a good amount of time to watching the various performances and browsing the booths.
The alluring stands were offering a variety of jewelry, statuettes, and Chinese ornaments. There was an overwhelming variety of jade jewelry and other jade items. They even had imitation jade elephants.
The smell of BBQ permeated the atmosphere so one had to inevitably try some. Particularly popular were the Korean BBQ beef sticks served as kebabs. The kettle corn stand was another hit, offering irresistible sweet and salty popcorn. Another major fare in the dining section was the variety of smoothies, including ones that were dairy-free.
Besides all of the delicious food, there was also plenty of entertainment. There were two separate stages that had a variety of acts going on simultaneously.
One act, NuVerz, a five-member pop band, performed on the kid's stage. They covered songs from the likes of Montell Jordan to Beyoncé Knowles .
Down the street on the other stage was Sinister Dexter, an impressive ensemble with several brass instruments.
They introduced many different musical influences, but producing the sounds of funk was their main goal.The musicians and singers were talented, but at times the saxophone became quite shrill and had the tendency to drown out the lead singer.
However, once the appropriate sound of balanced acoustics was found, they were quite enjoyable. At the end of their set they covered Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" which got several people dancing. It was quite an energetic way to end the weekend's performances.
The festival seemed to go efficiently and it was obvious that the public enjoyed themselves. The majority of people decided to depart around 6 p.m. when the vendors began to pack up.
Richard White, a member of the festival staff mentioned that Sunday had been busier due to the pleasant weather and when asked about his weekend there, his reply was; "Always a good time."
Expect next year to offer more good sights, sounds and times!
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