Plenty of food, games, entertainment at sun-splashed Soul Food Festival

Staff photos by Don Coble

Posted 10/9/19

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The festivities were already in full swing an hour before the gates opened for the 18th Soul Food Festival at Vera Francis Hall Park last Saturday.

Residents stood on both …

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Plenty of food, games, entertainment at sun-splashed Soul Food Festival

Posted Wednesday, October 9, 2019 12:00 pm

Staff photos by Don Coble

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The festivities were already in full swing an hour before the gates opened for the 18th Soul Food Festival at Vera Francis Hall Park last Saturday.

Residents stood on both sides of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard a half-mile-long parade into the park, followed by an afternoon of games, contests, shows and, of course, food.

The 2018 festival attracted about 5,000, organizer Felecia Hampshire said. Last Saturday’s sun-slashed event appeared to exceed that.

As with any festival, there was a variety of food, including ribs, sweet potato pies, chicken, shaved ice, seafood and Virgin Island meat pies.

Antoinette Chummings also was introduced as the 2019 Soul Food Queen.

The Soul Food Festival has become a source of community pride since the park once was a dump site. It was revived with help of the Clay Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Orange Park and Orange Park Mall, and it now serves as a focal point for the neighborhood.

This year’s theme was “Green Cove Forever” and it paid special homage to Augusta Savage, a sculptor and educator from Green Gove Springs.