The smells of soul food, barbeque, Jamaican cuisine and more will waft through the air of the Greenwood District this weekend during the first Black Wall Street Food Festival.
Jesse Foster cofounded the Step Up Now Foundation, the organization putting on the event. He is also the host of Step Up to the Grill on Greenwood, a Labor Day celebration featuring grill cook-offs and a car show.
Foster said his inspiration for this weekend’s event came from his desire to connect the community and small businesses. But there was also a little pressure from people who previously attended his grilling competition.
“From the Step Up to the Grill, people are always asking, “are you gonna do something else instead of just one time a year, Labor Day?” Foster told The Eagle. “So we came up with the idea to bring the Black Wall Street Food Festival. This is the first year that we’re having something like this down there on Greenwood.”
The cuisines on display will be extensive, as are the distances some vendors are traveling. Attendees can expect African flavors, seafood, burgers, finger foods and a hot dog stand, along with vegan and plant-based concepts.
Vendors are hailing from Tulsa and Oklahoma City, with some coming from as far away as Dallas, Kansas and Arkansas.
Based on the success of Step Up to the Grill, which is entering its seventh year, they’re expecting 3,000 people to show up Saturday.
“With this being a one-day event, starting at 10 in the morning you literally can come get you some breakfast food,” he said. “You can leave, come back because it’s free, and come get you some lunch. You can come get dinner.”
While success is measured in dollar signs — “it would be great for every single small business to make the money back that they invested to be a part of this or even sell out” — Foster just wants people to have a good time on a mid-July Saturday.
“Good food brings people together,” he said. “Thanksgiving or Christmas or any holiday, good food always brings us together as a community … it just helps us all grow as one.”
This will also mark the fourth event in the Greenwood District this summer following the Black Wall Street Rally, Legacy Festival and Juneteenth. Their success shows what this portion of north Tulsa can accomplish when they get on the same page.
“If everybody worked together and cut out all the politics and truly worked together, we can be so great as a community,” Foster said. “I see it growing and going in a really great spot.”
That will be on display this weekend as the event is also serving as a fundraiser for north Tulsa nonprofit Reed’s Youth Center.
The food festival runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday on Greenwood Avenue between Archer Street and John Hope Franklin Boulevard. It’s free to attend, featuring a live DJ and something for everyone “from the kids to the 90-year-olds,” Foster said.
