This year’s fourth annual event is expected to draw 4,000 to 5,000 people, says Jerry Jones, executive director of the MLK Center that organizes the event. The massive party is happening this year at Franklin Field, seven blocks from the MLK Center, to accommodate the larger crowd.
The event doubles as a celebration of the MLK Center’s 50th anniversary, and a giant family and community party.
“It’s really important these days to meet face to face, come together, celebrate our diversity, and strengthen our neighborhoods,” Jones told OurQuadCities.com.
Above, The Funktastic Five (pictured at this year’s Quad Cities Pride Fest) take the stage at Soul of the City at 4 p.m. (photo by Nat20 Photography)
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Jesse White Tumblers, Black Engineers, kids’ zone are highlights
This year, kids are a bigger than ever focus of this free festival, happening from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For starters, the event features a new kidz zone, with more children’s activities than in previous years. Also, the National Society of Black Engineers will be on hand to help create walkie-talkies and provide go-carts, Jones said.
The Jesse White Tumblers, founded in 1959, will bring their acrobatics to the party. The group puts on 1,500 performances a year worldwide and helps inner-city kids find positive ways to fuel their energy. It’s named after Jesse White, Illinois’ longest-serving Secretary of State who retired in 2023 after first being elected in 1998.
The Jesse White Tumblers, founded in 1959, put on their Soul of the City Show at around 10:30 or 11 a.m. Saturday
Highlights of the day:
- 8 a.m.: Participants in this year’s ribs competition will begin preparing. Registrants are welcome right up until tomorrow morning.
- 10 a.m.: Parade starts at Frances Willard School, 2503 9th St.
- Around 10:30 a.m.: Jesse White Tumblers take the stage
- 1 p.m.: judging of rib fest, which features cash prizes, a medal and trophy for top finishers
- Around 4 p.m.: The Funktastic 5 takes the stage.
Above, last year’s Soul of the City featured kids’ fun, but this year features an even larger kids’ zone.
Other features of the day include six disc jockeys, scholarship awards, an exhibition by the Rock Island Boxing Club, several more live bands, and a resource fair featuring almost four dozen vendors showcasing health care, social justice and home care services.
The MLK Center is also taking some extra steps to find alumni of the MLK Center and will be gathering their memories, Jones said.
Franklin Field is located at the intersection of 12th Avenue and 9th Street in Rock Island. For more information, head to the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center Facebook page, or Soul of the City Facebook event page.
Christine Hawes and Sonya Sanchez contributed to this report. Photos courtesy Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center
