Community Corner
"Unsung Heroes" — Theme for Solano Stroll
Sponsors, musicians and the Solano Avenue Association board met at Mechanics Bank in Albany for the unveiling of the "Unsung Heroes" logo and the kick-off of the popular event that draws tens of thousands on the second Sunday of September every year.
Locals packed into in Albany recently to celebrate the upcoming , which draws thousands to enjoy a walk, food, fun and games along Solano Avenue each year.
, will celebrate "Unsung Heroes."
Executive Director Allen Cain unveiled the event logo at the kick-off event on Aug. 11, crediting designer Tom Taylor of Art Thou Graphics for its beauty.
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"It's a very unique thing," said Cain. "The logo is produced each year. Most festivals have the same logo and the same artwork every year, for consistency and recognition. We produce a new piece of art every year."
Cain gave a special nod to for putting forward $4,000 for shuttle buses to run during the Stroll.
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The stroll also has a new mobile website to make it easy for people to find information the day of the event. Posters, along the street, include a QR code to make it easy to get to the website and find out what's happening.
But Cain said, overall, this year's Stroll wouldn't offer a lot of surprises.
"Basically it's the same, and let me tell you why," he said. "When I eased into this in 2006, the hardest shoes to fill were Lisa B's (the previous organizer).... So it was my goal to duplicate the Stroll, not mess it up. Over the last four years, we really fooled with it. We had mechanical rides, a ferris wheel at the top of the street... Last year, walking around, I thought: The formula's set. It's fine. It's good. It's where it's at and it's going well."
Cain also spoke up for the bands who had agreed to play the Stroll for free this year because of a budget shortfall due to decreasing event sponsorship.
He listed these performers in an email to the association after the kick-off event, adding "Live music is a treasured thing, and we encourage you to set-aside your iPods and don't hire that DJ... Live performance is a gift that we all need to support. If you need talent of any kind for any sort of event, we encourage you to turn to these fine performers who will be enveloping Solano Avenue with their sounds at the Stroll."
MUSIC YOU'LL HEAR AT THE SOLANO STROLL
Headliner: Downtown Rhythm
Adama: Music of the Jewish People
Albany All-Stars
Albany Jazz Band
Ancestral Water Band
Ballet Folklorico Juvenil de Berkeley
Bandworks School of Rock
Berkeley Class SF Royal Scottish Country Dance Society
Berkeley Folk Dancers
Berkeley High School Jazz
Berkeley Morris
Big Fish Band
Bishop L.E. Franklin and the Royal Family
Blues Daddies
Bryan Duncan (Church on the Corner)
California Repercussions
City Swing with Joyce Grant
Consensus
Deep Fried Bubblegum
Del Mars
Dwight Wilson
Emeryville Taiko
Fred Anderson
Irish guys
Jhameel
Katie's Dance Studio
Kopi-Katz
Magical Nathaniel
Mucho Axe
One Accord(Church on the Corner)
Oscar Reynolds
Professor Gizmo
Rhythm Bound - Albany High School
Shabang!
Spirit of 29
Studio Naga Indonesian Martial Arts & Wellness Center
Suhaila International
Troupe Tangiers & Sharifa's Habibi's
