Bay Area

Richmond’s Cinco de Mayo Festivities to Return After 3-Year Hiatus

Richmond’s 23rd Street Merchants Association is organizing the return of the Cinco de Mayo festival Sunday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This year marks the festival’s 17th trip around the sun after a three-year pandemic pause. Rocio Martinez of Rigo’s Auto Sales — whose Rigoberto and Carla Mendoza sit on the association’s board — confirmed the return of the family friendly festival, which will take place along the 23rd Street corridor in Richmond between Clinton Avenue and Rheem Avenue.

Published

3 years ago

April 27, 2023

Oakland Post

Tens of thousands of people came out for the annual 23rd Street Merchants Association Cinco de Mayo Festival sponsored by Chevron Richmond. Richmond Standard photo.

By Kathy Chouteau
The Richmond Standard

It’s baaack!

Richmond’s 23^rd Street Merchants Association is organizing the return of the Cinco de Mayo festival Sunday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This year marks the festival’s 17^th trip around the sun after a three-year pandemic pause.

Rocio Martinez of Rigo’s Auto Sales — whose Rigoberto and Carla Mendoza sit on the association’s board — confirmed the return of the family friendly festival, which will take place along the 23^rd Street corridor in Richmond between Clinton Avenue and Rheem Avenue. Included among the festivities will be a lip-smacking variety of Latinx food vendors, food trucks and restaurants, as well as music, art/other booths, pony rides and kid-friendly fun.

Two stages — one sponsored by La Raza 93.3 FM on 23^rd & Rheem Avenue and another sponsored by Radio Lazer 1510 AM at 23^rd & Clinton Avenue — will provide the crowd with live entertainment. Martinez said that at the last time the festival was held in 2019, more than 100,000 people attended.

Chevron Richmond is a major sponsor of the event, with other local businesses like the City of Richmond, Mechanics Bank, AC Transit and more lending their support too. Questions re: the Cinco de Mayo festival may be emailed to Rocio Martinez or Claudia Chavez at 23rdstreetmerchantsa@gmail.com. Please note that alcohol is not permitted, and vendor applications are no longer being accepted.

Also making a return this year is the volunteer-run Cinco de Mayo Peace and Unity Parade, which will take place on May 6, the day before the Richmond festival.

The 15^th annual parade starts at 10 a.m. that Saturday at 24^th Street and Barrett Avenue in Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.

Buses will return people to Richmond at the parade’s completion. For more info, email 5demayoparade@gmail.com.

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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.