Bay Area

The Jollof Festival Brings Together Oakland Community

The Jollof Festival began its national run in Oakland on Saturday July 13. The festival was held outside at 1255 Seventh St., near the West Oakland BART Station. The event was co-produced by Ishmael Osekre, Quiana Webster, and Njleone. The Jollof Festival started 17 years ago, an event centered around a prevalent debate in Black culture: Who makes the best Jollof? Each year every city the festival visits gets to vote on which West African country makes the best Jollof.

Published

2 years ago

August 17, 2024

Oakland Post

About 150 people came to the Jollof Festival to sample plates and cheer on the contestants. Photo by Daisha Williams.

By Daisha Williams

The Jollof Festival began its national run in Oakland on Saturday July 13. The festival was held outside at 1255 Seventh St., near the West Oakland BART Station.

The event was co-produced by Ishmael Osekre, Quiana Webster, and Njleone. The Jollof Festival started 17 years ago, an event centered around a prevalent debate in Black culture: Who makes the best Jollof? Each year every city the festival visits gets to vote on which West African country makes the best Jollof.

In response to local requests, the festival began coming to Oakland in 2018. The Bay has been incredibly welcoming – this year there was a line down the block even hours after the festival had started.

On the walls of the Seventh Street building were beautiful murals and artwork even adorned the fence surrounding the event, adding to the vibe of the space.

Vendors – including Vibrant Designs and Red Ruby Boutique – rimmed the venue, separated from a seating area with the dance floor in the center. Also along the perimeter was the tasting area where people could order food or pick up their pre-ordered plate. AfroEats, MAMA”s Sauces and Marinades, and Eko Kitchen were among the caterers.

Although the rice is what brings people to the festival, community is really the heart of it. People stay long after the rice is gone, dancing, talking, and singing together.

“Our focus is on Jollof rice and this really fun cultural banter that is happening around it. But it’s not just food… there are all these activities that make it a fun, friendly, communal, and intercultural experience.” said co-producer Osekre.

Like a true cultural event, the thing that brought the most people together was the music. Everyone was on the dance floor, feeling the music that vibrated through the event. There were DJ’s such as DJ Leonne Brayo the DJ and performers including @jahniahomi and @olujazz on Instagram.

Fun for all ages, many families brought their kids and there was even a corner with games for them to play.

Around an hour before the event was over organizers called up volunteer judges from the audience. Each judge tested four different rice plates and rated each on a scale of 1 to 10. Everyone quieted as the scores were being announced, reacting loudly afterwards.

This was the most exciting part of the event with everyone rooting for their own countries.

Before the judging they emphasized that it doesn’t matter who wins because we’re all united as a community.

On July 20 the Jollof Festival will be in Atlanta, Georgia. It will then go to Washington, D.C., Detroit, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Durham, Dallas, and finally Houston.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.