16 Sep Local Happenings – Sept 2015

From the RP News Desk

Spirit & Soul Festival 

The seventh annual Spirit & Soul Festival returns to downtown Richmond on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The outdoor festival is a celebration of Downtown Richmond and will feature live entertainment and a bazaar with artisan and craft vendors, food booths, beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages for sale. Proceeds from drink sales and a silent auction will benefit Richmond Main Street Initiative’s mission to support the revitalization of historic downtown Richmond.

Musical headliners for the event include 2015 winners of the SF Carnival Festival, SambaFunk! And the Funkquarians; jazz, soul and R&B drummer Rene Escovedo & Fuze; Nicole Buttah Pearson & the Buttaluv Band; and guitarist Kenya Baker & the Kenya B Trio.

Officials with the Richmond Main Street Initiative will also honor several individuals who have been instrumental in giving of their time, resources, and expertise to support downtown Richmond’s revitalization efforts.

Admission is free and festivities will take place on Macdonald Avenue between Harbour Way and 13th Street. For more information, visit www.richmondmainstreet.org.

Electric Cars in Richmond

Join other Richmond residents to celebrate National Drive Electric Week, a nationwide push to raise awareness of all-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric cars. There will be experts on hand to answer questions and explain the technology of electric vehicles.

Richmond’s event will take place at Richmond City Hall (440 Civic Center Plaza) in the parking lot across from the Richmond Public Library, on Thursday, Sept. 17 and run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. To register or volunteer, visit: https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=450.

31^st annual California Coastal Cleanup Day

Bring the family out and enjoy a day along Richmond’s shoreline, picking up trash and cleaning up the waterways for the 31^st annual California Coastal Cleanup Day.

Adults should accompany children under 16 and volunteers are asked to bring a refillable water bottle, sunscreen, a bucket for trash, a hat, gloves and should wear closed toed shoes and layered clothing.

The District will provide snacks, water, disposable gloves and trash bags.

The cleanup is on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Point Isabel and Point Pinole regional shorelines. Registration is required.

To register, visit EBParksOnline.org or call 1-888-327-2757 option 2; mention the reference course number indicated on participating parks below.  Pt. Isabel is reference #10702 and Pt. Pinole is # 10703.

Gender Responsiveness Conference

Reach Fellowship International, a local nonprofit that provides services for women coming from jail or prison, is sponsoring an inaugural conference on gender responsiveness to discuss and identify action steps for how to better serve incarcerated women, and how to best facilitate their re-entry as productive members of the community in Contra Costa County.

Barbara Bloom, a Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies professor at Sonoma State University and co-director of the Center for Gender and Justice, is the keynote speaker at the event.

The conference will take place on at Richmond City Hall Council Chambers, 440 Civic Center Plaza, on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 10 a.m.

To register visit: tinyurl.com/GRConference

Those interested in participating in the conference as a speaker or a panelist can email info@reachfi.org.