VAUGHN STREET ROCKS OUT TO GOSPEL, RAP AND PRAYER.Byline: Luz Villarreal Daily News Staff Writer With two empty grocery bags in hand, Alicia Gonzalez and her 2-year-old daughter, Erika, made their way down the food give-away line at Christ Memorial Church on Saturday. There was no paperwork to fill out, no income boxes to check. Nobody even asked for names. Volunteers just smiled and handed the unemployed mother boxes of pasta, soup and rice. Then, after both of her bags were full, someone tucked a large can of fruit under Gonzalez's left arm. ``We have five kids,'' the 39-year-old Sun Valley resident said. ``My husband makes just a little more than minimum wage. It's hard to make ends meet. This is an important event because there are a lot of hungry kids in the Valley.'' Gonzalez was one of hundreds of San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. residents who received free food Saturday during a weekend block party sponsored by the Vaughn Street church. The two-day festival, called Help Heal Our Streets, began Friday evening and was expected to draw thousands of people from across the Valley before it ended Saturday night. On the street in front of the church, more than 1,000 people of all ages gathered in front of a mobile stage to listen to the thumping sounds of rap music rap music or hip-hop, genre originating in the mid-1970s among black and Hispanic performers in New York City, at first associated with an athletic style of dancing, known as breakdancing. , gospel style. Children competed in dance contests for free compact discs and cash. Others formed small circles and prayed. Lucy Romo and Vanessa Galvan didn't have to travel far to join in the festivities fes·tiv·i·ty n. pl. fes·tiv·i·ties 1. A joyous feast, holiday, or celebration; a festival. 2. The pleasure, joy, and gaiety of a festival or celebration. 3. . The two live in Pacoima and attend MacClay Middle School, where they heard about the festival. ``This is so cool because the music is good, and they talk about Jesus,'' said Romo, 14. ``They are telling people to get out of gangs.'' There were two additional stages inside the church grounds for children's ministry programs and entertainers such as keyboard player Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2 1946 – June 6 2006) was an American soul musician from Houston, Texas, raised mostly in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his successful, Grammy-winning career as a solo artist, Preston collaborated with some of the greatest names in and Grammy Award-nominated gospel singer Helen Baylor. Church Pastor Andrae Crouch, an eight-time Grammy Award-winning gospel singer, also was set to entertain. The event was a celebration of Crouch's first year in the pulpit of the church and a way of bringing the community together for spiritual healing spiritual healing, n healing systems based on the principle of spirituality and its effect on well-being and recovery. . ``There are people of all ages and colors here today,'' Crouch said. ``I want them to know that the church cares about them, their welfare, and that God loves them and their future.'' The festival also featured American Indian American Indian or Native American or Amerindian or indigenous American Any member of the various aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimos (Inuit) and the Aleuts. dancers, motorcycle stunt shows Knott's Berry Farm's Wild West Stunt show debuted on October 8 1974. The show was written by Gary Salisbury and was only scheduled to run Monday through Friday during the Winter season in the Wagon Camp Theatre. and free toys. More than 50 tons of food were distributed Friday and Saturday to area residents, churches, shelters and food banks throughout the Valley. The food came from the international nonprofit group Feed The Children. Melody Gray of Pacoima brought her three children to support the cause. ``People think that because this is America, children aren't hungry,'' said Gray, who works for the U.S. Postal Service The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) processes and delivers mail to individuals and businesses within the United States. The service seeks to improve its performance through the development of efficient mail-handling systems and operates its own planning and engineering programs. in San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. . ``Right here in California, near Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. , there are a lot of people who need food. I hope people take advantage of the free food but hopefully they'll find the lord while they are here.'' CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1--color) ``Jump4Christ'' performs a skit at the ``Heal Our Streets'' block party given by Christ Memorial Church in Pacoima. (2) Residents recite a group prayer Saturday at the ``Heal Our Streets'' block party, where rap and gospel music intermingled with prayer. (3) Kevin Cross, 10, break-dances at the Vaughn Street block party. David Richard Crane/Daily News |
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