By Tuseda A. Graggs

More than 250 people turned out to enjoy the rousing finale of the Music on the Main summer concert series last week.

   Gospel and dance were the theme of the evening, as featured performers The Stars of Glory, the North Richmond Missionary Baptist Church choir and Demitrea Foster brought the crowd to its feet at the corner of Macdonald Avenue and Marina Way.
    “It was a well-attended event,” said Amanda Elliott, executive director of the Richmond Main Street Initiative, which co-sponsored the event with the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP).
   “People got to sample the local gospel talent. The Stars of Glory brought down the house. It ended up being a praise fest, and we ended on a really high note,” she said.
    The final event of the fourconcert series also doubled as the kick-off for GRIP’s 22nd annual Harmony Walk to End Hunger, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11. It begins at 8 a.m. with registration and a rally at John F. Kennedy Park in Richmond. The walk starts at 9 a.m.
    Proceeds will benefit GRIP, which helps homeless individuals and their families become self-sufficient.
    Concert attendees had the opportunity to enjoy food from local barbeque restaurants and to buy from vendors in the Market Square Mall area. Eco-Village distributed fresh fruits and vegetables, and groups including GRIP, the Barack Obama for president campaign and the Chevron refinery manned information tables.
    The Richmond Main Street Initiative plans to continue the concert series next summer as part of its effort to further build the downtown community.
    For more information about the Harmony Walk to End Hunger, visit www.richmondmainstreet.org or www.gripcommunity.org,
or call GRIP at (510) 223-2141.