The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center (MLK Center) will host its annual Soul of the City celebration from 5-10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug.17.
Formerly known as Family Fun Day, Soul of the City is a community event celebrating all cultures as well as strength in families and community, the MLK Center said in a news release.
Soul of the City will take place at the MLK Center and MLK Jr. Park. They are located at Ninth Street and Seventh Avenue in Rock Island.
This year’s event is a collaboration among the MLK Center, Polyrhythms, NAACP of Rock Island County, and Rock Island Parks & Recreation.
“Soul of the City is a festival for people of all ages,” MLK Center Executive Director Jerry Jones added in the release. “Thanks to partnerships with some great organizations, this year will be bigger than ever. We’re inviting the entire Quad Cities to join this free community event, and to experience some of the best of what Rock Island has to offer.”
Entertainment lineup
Highlights of the MLK Center Soul of the City 2024 include:
- Polyrhythms Bill Bell Jazz & Heritage Festival.
- Marching Storm marching band from Lincoln University (Jefferson City, Missouri, a historically-Black university.)
- STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) bus and activities for kids including a virtual welding station, presented by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) & John Deere Davenport Works.
- Multicultural celebration by the QC Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees (QCAIR), including fashion, food, art, dance, and jewelry, food and merchandise vendors.
- Black Author’s Forum and Book Fair.
- Performance by the Dynamic Status Gems.
- Community resource fair.
- Bounce houses and other children’s activities.
- Live entertainment.
- Dunk tank.
- Community health forum on the topic of lupus.
The Soul of the City parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Frances Willard Elementary School at Ninth Street and 25th Avenue. It will head north along Ninth Street, and will conclude at the MLK Center. The parade grand marshal is the 2024 “I Have a Dream” award winner John Hildreth of Augustana College.
Food, merchants on tap
Food vendors will include: Stan’s Ice Cream, Fuego Taco, Burrage Smoked BBQ & Catering, Mr. Wings, Ezy’s, Smokin Goodness, Delicias y sabores, Good Food, Aguas Frescas Camila, Chill On Wheels By Mani, Sweet Shardae, and Uncle Moe’s Catfish.
Merchants will include: My Beautiful Fluff, CharmCharmz of Destiny Ari’e, Nika Loves, A Touch of Heaven Development, 151 Permanent Style, Sweetest Soul Candles, Moore Divahs, Laura’s Blings Rings and Things, June50 style, Rock Island Boxing Club, Lohko Sweet/ Studio of Relaxation, Aetna Insurance, and Illinois Freedom Alliance.
The City of Rock Island and Ascentra Credit Union are both sponsors of the Soul of the City, MLK Center event.
The MLK Center inspires greatness through community-building, education and service, the organization said.
Major programs include Substance Use Prevention; Teenage Pregnancy Prevention; Family Advocacy Center; free after-school and summer programs for children aged 6-14; a variety of clubs for people of all ages; free tax preparation assistance; four annual events for the community; and backbone support for the West End Revitalization.
