October 20, 2022

By Amanda Scurlock

Contributing Writer

 

The Taste of Soul VIP Experience provided a place of fine dining and live music for the festival’s sponsors and supporters.

Celebrity chair Kim Coles expressed her joy in seeing the community at the Taste of Soul.

 

 

“I love watching us love on each other, I love the hues of our skin and the curves of our body,” Coles said.

 

 

 

“I was watching some of the majorettes, the drum corps going by and just loving on them and their confidence and loving on themselves.”

Coles is currently on a show called “Finding Happy” on Bounce TV and will be starring in the reboot of the hit reality series “The Surreal Life.”

Compton Mayor Emma Sharif sees the Taste of Soul as an opportunity for businesses to collaborate with each other and individuals.

 

“People from Compton are here, from everywhere,” Sharif said. “It’s just been exciting for me because we have not been able to come together in the past three years.”

 

For Councilmember Curren Price, the festival is a great place to get resources along with a great meal.

 

“It literally supports hundreds of entrepreneurs, food and other vendors,” Price said. “A chance to get information … good services, a time for organizations to talk about what is available in our community.”

 

 

Pucker Up Lemonade CEO and owner Karneisha Christian noted how important the festival is for small businesses. Several flavors, including cucumber, peach cobbler, and lavender lemonade were available at the VIP experience.

 

“We’ve been welcomed into the VIP tent as beverage caterers since 2014,” Christian said. “I love the Sentinel and the Taste of Soul family.”

KBLA Talk Radio host Dominique DiPrima looked forward to the Beer Garden that featured Star Beer and Longevity Wines.

“I think everybody needs the fellowship and it’s a familiarity that is comforting to us,” DiPrima said. “It’s the food, it’s all of our favorite dishes and I think a lot of it is just the reassurance that life goes on.”

 

Southern California Edison Senior Government Relations Manager David Ford got a chance to eat barbeque and seafood while at the Taste of Soul.

 

 

“These vendors really know what they’re talking about,” Ford said. “With the magnitude and the amount of people that are here, this really opens up an opportunity for them to make thousands of dollars.”

 

 

 

 

Viv Technologies Investor Relations Senior Vice President John Moten believes that Taste Of Soul is about connections. ­

 

“I think that fundamentally, us as people, we need to be able to connect,” Moten said. “It’s that human bond and in-person bond is vitally important.”

 

Highland Poe Chairman and CEO Jarvis Stewart noted how unity is important now considering the issues going on with Los Angeles City Council.

 

 

“The city of Los Angeles is in a very precarious position from a race perspective and so I think this is an opportunity to bring people back together,” Stewart said. “We’re looking at shrimp and some lobster and French fries and salad and cupcakes.”

Category: Business