SMU at Oakland Art & Soul Festival

Submitted by Shannon Holbrook, Office of Diversity and Inclusion

Samuel Merritt University (SMU) and the Office of Diversity were on the scene for the 15^th annual Oakland Art & Soul Festival August 1 and 2. Located in downtown Oakland, the festival spanned the Frank Ogawa Plaza over to the city center area. The main stage was at 12^th and Clay and featured artist Lenny Williams on Saturday and headliner Sheila E. on Sunday.

Happily for us, the SMU table was right in the center of the action on Clay Street. The weather was perfect on both days, warm and sunny with just enough east bay breeze to keep the crowds from sweltering. The SMU booth was a hot spot as the Wheel of Health took center stage. One wheel for the kiddies asks them relevant health questions and allows them to win fun prizes like stickers and puzzles. The adult wheel featured more challenging health disparity questions and let the winners feel accomplished as they spun to win SMU shwag!

The most popular questions weren’t about health but a fitness challenge to hula hoop or jump rope for one minute. The wheel spinners stepped up and hula hooped and the children in particular had a blast proving they could jump rope and hula hoop better than the grown-ups! 

Click here to see our flickr album for photos of the event's hula hoopers and jump ropers!

Special thanks to our wonderful volunteers and to the SMU Ambassadors! Eugenia Berdall and Anne Seed from the Admission Department were on hand to help guide future students to the right programs!

SMU’s outreach efforts are really paying off as many alumni and community members stopped by the booth and expressed how delighted they were to see SMU at the event and share stories about times at or with SMU.