Economy Sends Summer Chill Through Historic Community Events in South L.A.

The African Marketplace & Cultural Faire will be pared down and Jazz at Drew will be postponed as the sluggish economy continues to bring street-level struggles, hitting two of the most popular summer events in Los Angeles' black community.

Officials of both events said they must rethink how they will be presented in the future in light of recent drop-offs in major sponsorships, limited resources, and escalations in fees and other costs.

James Burks

Founded by James Burks in 1985 as an incubator festival to promote local artists, drive the economic development of South Los Angeles, and to promote the arts and the African diaspora culture, the marketplace began on the patio of the William Grant Stills Community Arts Center in L.A. and grew into a three-week festival.

Traditionally held as the summer is winding down during the last two weekends in August and through the Labor Day weekend, the marketplace has grown to become one of the premiere seasonal events in South Los Angeles, drawing all ethnic groups and crowds of up to 20,000.

However, according to Debra Winters, managing director for African Marketplace Inc., in lieu of a three-weekend event, this year the organizers will host "mini-festivals" or "snippets" of the marketplace festival throughout the year leading up to and promoting the festival's 25th anniversary in 2010.

"We're doing this because of the hardships of the economy and the trickle-down effect it has had with our vendors, our equipment vendors, with establishing relationships with new sponsors," Winters said. "Everybody is kind of not in the position to contribute the way they were in the past years, and that is all across the board."

The marketplace usually has a gala African Ball, and organizers do want to schedule and confirm a date for that in August, she added.

Winters said that putting off this year's festival does not mean that the organization can't recover in a weak economy.

"This just means we have to think differently on how we are operating in our infrastructure of the corporation itself and that's what we're doing," she said. "We're restructuring our corporation so that we can sustain for the next 25 years, and in order to do that, it takes time."

As for Jazz at Drew, the decision not to host the event this year was made due to the lack of any confirmed major sponsors as of April 1, the deadline agreed to by the board of trustees and Jazz at Drew planning committee, said Dr. Keith C. Norris, executive vice president for Research and Health Affairs, and head of Charles Drew University's Office of External Affairs.

"Given the economy, the university would be unable to fund the event without laying off more people," said Norris, who was traveling and responded by e-mail to the L.A. Watts Times. "It is a tough balance between community pride, legacy and jobs, each of which are important. The decision by the university is based on what is needed to maintain the quality of education for our students, which is the primary responsibility of the university."

Norris added that if additional resources became available, the university would move forward with "an abbreviated planning and marketing" of Jazz at Drew.

"Many of the traditional Jazz at Drew sponsors are struggling right now with the economic woes of the world," he said. "So while the university does not anticipate a last-minute miracle for this year, we — along with the community at large — remain hopeful that a sponsor might step forward in time to resume the event."

Like the African Marketplace, Norris noted that the realities of the economy means rethinking how Jazz at Drew is structured in the future.

Jazz at Drew was started 18 years ago by Roland Betts as a vehicle to raise funds for the medical school.

Harold Hambrick

Harold Hambrick, executive director of the Black Business Expo, says the fact is that things have changed and that the downturn in the economy has affected African American event planners, festivals and the communities they serve in ways "we just don't realize."

"Things are not like they use to be," said Hambrick, who cancelled last year's Black Business Expo in order to restructure. "The resources are not there, the sponsors are not there, and the consumer doesn't have the money. People are holding on to their resources and they are very careful about how they spend their money."

This year's Black Business Expo, held last month, was downsized to include fewer exhibitors, utilize less floor space, and designed for a smaller attendance.

"The attendance, by design, at the Expo was down 30 percent but we redesigned the show," he said.

The show was designed for about 200 to 250 exhibitors, so it was less floor space, he said, adding space was smaller due to the economy, less sponsors and also the impact it has had on the small-business men.

"So for the amount of space that we had, the attendance was right on target because we had anticipated that," he said. "Instead of having 45,000 attendees, we had about (30,000) to 35,000 attendees."

One festival that doesn't seem to be feeling the economic pinch is the Watts Summer Festival, which has been called "the grandfather of all African American festivals in the United States."

Celebrating its 43rd year, the Watts Summer Festival will be held Aug. 7, 8 and 9, noon to 8 p.m., at 103rd Street and Compton Avenue, in the heart of Watts. The festival is free and parking is free.

"Just like every other organization, we depend on donations and financial supporters, and of course we've been affected (by the economy), but we still proceed," said Brenda Giles, assistant to Executive Director Tommy Jacquette. "This festival is for the people in the community, so regardless of the economy the festival still goes on."

The festival began in 1966 following the Watts Rebellion in 1965.

Giles believes the festival has endured despite the rise and fall of the economy because it has never outgrown itself or the community it serves. She noted that the festival has 17 components — some that can be put on and some that can't.

"We have 10 food vendors, we have 10 non-food vendors, we have our social service booth, we have our carnival, we have our art exhibit and our concert," she said.

She added that the price of vending booths has remained the same for the past five years.

"This is for the families, everybody comes out just to have a good time and it doesn't take a lot of money to have a good time," she said. "It's just about people coming together and having a good time, enjoying the African American culture."

Danny Bakewell Jr.

A Taste of Soul is another event that does not seem to be feeling the economic pinch. Danny Bakewell, Jr., president and executive editor of the Los Angeles Sentinel, which holds A Taste of Soul, says plans are in the works for this year's event to go forward on Oct. 17.

Bakewell said there have been some challenges in terms of commitments from sponsors at the same level as last year. However, despite the economy, the event is picking up new sponsors to cushion any drop.

"In many cases, events that had corporate sponsors before are not happening and therefore we are picking up some of that," he said.

Launched in October 2006 along historic Crenshaw Boulevard, the inaugural Taste of Soul drew an estimated 35,000. Since that time, attendance at the free to the public event has consistently increased, which is one of the reasons sponsors find the event so appealing, Bakewell noted.

"I think corporations are very selective in what events they sponsor," he said. "The success of Taste of Soul and the number of people who come out each year, and the positive vibe that goes on with the event, causes us to be able to retain our sponsorships where other events may lose out. When you have an event where over 100,000 people show up, those are the ones the corporate sponsors generally like."

Related info:
* African Marketplace & Cultural Faire
* Jazz at Drew

Chico C. Norwood is a writer for the L.A. Watts Times.

Screenshots of The African Marketplace & Cultural Faire and Jazz at Drew from www.africanmarketplace.org and www.jazzatdrew.com; photos from L.A. Watts Times