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About 500 people passed through Gladys Park for the 5th annual Skid Row Arts Festival on Oct. 18 and 19. The festival — co-hosted by the Los Angeles Poverty Department and LAMP Arts Community — celebrated the creative talent of homeless and formerly homeless residents of Skid Row.
One of the bands featured at the festival was The Melting Pot, led by Franc Foster. Foster helps run the Artist & Musician’s Recovery Program at LAMP, which provides insturments for Skid Row musicians. Kenneth Adams, now one of the guitarists for The Melting Pot, was a recipient of one of the program’s guitars before becoming a part of the band. When Adams relocated to Los Angeles from Detroit, Adams fell on hard times. Music helped Adams pick himself up. Foster, too, once struggled with homelessness. Now they both hope to inspire others like them.
The Melting Pot will perform on Oct. 30 at the Youth Justice Coalition in Inglewood. To donate new or used instruments or art supplies to the LAMP program, visit lampcommunity.org.
I created this segment for Annenberg Radio at the University of Southern California.
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