Wanda's Picks Radio, Wed., August 3, 2016

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

1. Aundrea Lacy, born and raised in San Francisco, has been a model, a television journalist, and a marketing executive for Fortune 500 companies. She earned her MBA from Golden State University. In 1996, she went from baking brownies for friends to building her own online bakery business, Luv Brownies. In addition, she gives career presentations for girls and women from around the country.

Lacy established Luv's Brownies in October 1996, first preparing her delicious morsels in her apartment—then in a professional kitchen as sales drew exponentially. The treats are sold through

Lacy's Internet bakery and shipped nationwide. Luv's Brownies are prepared in more than 20 savory flavors including rocky road, peanut butter brownie s’more, coconut caramel, mint chip and more.

Luv's Brownies founder is the author of two books. Lacy's first book "Luv Story: From Homemade Brownies to My Own Internet Bakery" is a resource for anyone who desires to start their own small business. In "Luv Story" Lacy shares real life experiences, including how she kept her company thriving through an economic downturn and her personal life crises. "Luv Story: From Homemade Brownies to My Own Internet Bakery" sold more than 30,000 copies.

Lacy's second literary offering, "Brownie Points: Lessons for Woman Entrepreneurs from One Who Made It," is a greatly expanded version of "Luv Story," one which answers the many questions she had been asked on her speaking engagements by girls and women who were considering starting their own business. Without changing her simple and straightforward style, she went into detail on how to write a business plan, bookkeeping; marketing and much more. Visit luvsbrownies.com

2. We close with an interview with Thomas Simpson, AfroSolo founder, who will speak about the August 2016 season which opens with a free concert at Yerba Buena Gardens, in San Francisco,

Ms. Tammy Hall and Dr. Linda Ricketts, both featured at the
AfroSolo 2016 Concert at YBCA

Mission @ Third Streets, this Sat., August 6, 1-3 p.m. Featured are two artists and their ensembles, Ms. Tammy Hall and Dr. Linda Ricketts. Dr. Ricketts will join us this morning.

Linda Ricketts is a vocalist who began performing at age 15 with a classical vocal ensemble, and has been involved in the performing arts ever since. Born and raised in the Midwest, Linda co-founded a Caribbean Dance & Folklore Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, and co-founded the ‘Black & White & Dread All Over’ Puppet Company of St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. After moving to the Bay Area in the mid 1980’s, Linda worked closely with local jazz artists to create The ‘Oakland Bay Area Jazz Preservation Society’, a non profit organization dedicated to preserving jazz music by offering programs in the public schools of Oakland and San Francisco, and in after school music programs for children in the Greater Bay Area.
In 1988 she founded an Oakland based performing arts group, ‘The Gospel Theatre Ensemble.’

Linda is an experienced studio artist. She has recorded at Skywalker Ranch with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir (OIGC) on Linda Rondstadt’s Grammy winning Cry Like a Rainstorm, soloed on OIGC’s debut recording, and has provided background vocals on several studio projects. She is a frequent soloist at special events and at jazz and dinner spots here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Linda frequently appears on various venues in cities across the country stylizing ballads, blues, spirituals and jazz in a fashion uniquely suited for the deep resonance of her contralto voice.

Known to many as Ricketti Rick, Linda has shared the stage with such local and nationally acclaimed artists as, Pharaoh Sanders, Ricardo Scales, William Bell, Ed Kelley, John Turk, Rhonda Benin, Robert Stewart, Willis Kirk, The Neville Brothers, Jackie Hairston and many others. She was recently featured at the Throckmorton Theatre in northern California with The Friends of The Negro Spirituals.

Linda regularly sings with the Allen Temple Baptist Church Choirs in Oakland, and has performed in a variety of venues in the U.S., France, Japan, Mexico, and Africa. A professional speaker and Education & Training consultant, Dr. Linda Ricketts delivers music that fuels the spirit and feeds the soul.

Thomas Simpson Bio
 (from website)
Thomas Robert Simpson, actor, director, producer, and writer, is the founder and artistic director of AfroSolo Arts Festival. Since 1991 he has concentrated on presenting African American and African Diasporan art and culture through solo performances and the visual and literary arts.

For the past seventeen years Mr. Simpson has produced the award winning and critically acclaimed AfroSolo Arts Festival in San Francisco, presenting over seventy-five artists. He has also showcased celebrity artists such as award-winning actor Ruby Dee, comedian and political activist Dick Gregory, beloved teacher, poet and social activist June Jordan, sensational black gospel singer Emmit Powell, and many others.

In 2006 Mr. Simpson won a coveted Bay Area Jefferson Award for Public Service. In 2009 he was awarded a prestigious Certificate of Honor from the San Francisco Board of Supervisor, as well as award from San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Black Brothers Esteem Program, The Reggie Williams Achievement Award and the Oakland Supper Club for his contributions to our community.

Since 1999 Mr. Simpson has also used this Arts Festival to focus on the health of African Americans, he has collaborating with the medical community to present health fairs as well as sat on committees charged with decreasing the health disparity in the African American community.

Link to show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2016/08/03/wandas-picks-radio-show