Singing, dancing for the KAB Center
The soulful sound of Earth, Wind & Fire was grooving from the bandstand in Ridge Ferry Park and the crowd was dancing in the grass and swaying in the chairs — except it wasn’t Earth, Wind & Fire. It was Just Three, one of the bands that featured in the third edition of Rome’s SoulFest on Saturday.
“We just feel so blessed that the weather changed in our favor,” said Bill Collins, one of the primary organizers of the event to benefit the Kelsey-Aycock-Burrell Center, 41 Washington Drive. He brought in several new groups this year including Zapp from Dayton, Ohio, and Atlanta’s Just Three along with Bobby Miller and his Prince and Michael Jackson Experience. Miller covers Michael Jackson in one set and Prince during a separate performance.
Collins, a longtime Rome city commissioner, said that ticket pre-sales were much better than last year when around 6,000 turned out for the event.
The KAB Center hosts several AfricanAmerican organizations ranging from the 100 Black men of Northwest Georgia, to the local chapter of the NAACP, Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Northwest Georgia and Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
“They do so much for kids, scholarships and just about anything that can be done to help the community.”
DJ Samuel Davis, who like Collins, serves on the city council in Douglasville, was back again this year to entertain the audience between band sets on the stage. He said this was a great event for Rome and Northwest Georgia.
“This is good to get everybody out,” Davis said.
The Zapp Band, which has been around since the late 1970s, was the headliner for the event and last band on stage Saturday night. The group is known for high-energy performances featuring classic R&B tunes, electro-boogie, techno funk favorites.
Cecilia “CeCe” Slaton, Rome, brought her Jewels Unlimited 5 booth out to the event and was among the vendors who were attracting more and more people as the heat and humidity of the afternoon faded with the sunset.
While the adults enjoyed the music in lawn chairs under tents and trees, children were able to take advantage of several inflatables that were set up around the perimeter of the park throughout the day.