Oakland's Art & Soul - Labor Day Weekend

Art and Soul covers a wide swath of downtown Oakland every Labor Day Weekend. Frank Ogawa Plaza and the surrounding blocks are fenced in for the diverse music and arts festival that features six stages and more than 60 performers across musical genres.

I spent a full day at Art and Soul last year, and the highlight for me was the rotating music line-up across multiple stages -- running the gamut from West African Highlife, veterans of world music fusion, to a rendition of "Eat Your Damn Spaghetti" by Housewives on Prozac. The Art and Soul website has the full line-up for this year's event.

It was crowded, but there was room to finagle a spot at nearly all of the music venues, given the open-air ambiance. Food vending leans toward the usual suspects of street fair eats (kabobs, curries, and kettle corn) but there's also a bit of wine tasting and chocolate included on the gourmet end.

This year, the children's Family Fun Zone area is back, with carnival rides, magic, interactive arts, and clowns (the happy kind, not the Flunky kind).

Artisan displays this year include an on-site demo on Saturday from The Crucible -- fire and industrial arts experts. They're the institute behind the annual Fire Arts Festival and metal monster event in West Oakland.

Art and Soul happens from August 30 to September 1 in downtown Oakland. If you're using BART, get off at 12th Street and walk to the entrance on Broadway and 14th. For cyclists, there's free attendant bike parking. The festival strives to be green, so use the composting and recycling bins they'll be providing.

(A few Art and Soul pics from last year's event.)

^{Photo © Ingrid Taylar}