Banquet Hall Podcast

Welcome back to Free Game Fridays! Each session of this 4-part series, we discuss an overarching topic, how it has manifested in our personal and professional lives, and provide some gems for listeners to takeaway with them. For our final session, tune in for the gems on finding a job, making sure that resume is flawless, and leaving a great impression during your interview. Whether you are lookin...

The Banquet Hall is excited to welcome Little Blue (she/her) to the podcast! She is a Spoken Word Poet who was born and raised in Philadelphia and she will be featuring at Black Xpression on Friday, December 8, 2023! Prior to her feature, we wanted to make sure that the Black Xpression audience got to know Little Blue's background a little more, from her poetry origin in high school, to publis...

A Banquet Hall is not complete without a resident DJ! This week's episode we are bringing you the vibes with DJ AlmondEyez who is a DJ, chef, mother, rapper, and more from SouthEast San Diego. Our conversation ranges from tiny houses, to DJ pet peeves, to why Pan-African Studies matters, so there is a little bit of something for everyone!

Young, Gifted, & Black is not only the organization that Pascal founded at Cuyamaca, it also perfectly embodies who Pascal is as an artist. While she is still growing into herself and her voice as a poet and artist, I know that she is destined for greatness. I am more than honored that she trusted me to help her tell her story, and I hope that you all gain so much inspiration from what we discuss...

Everyone knows the warning about the grass on the other side of the fence, but what do we do about those brown spots in our yard? Love them. Chris stops by The Banquet Hall to talk about college access and success, as well as the importance of owning every part of our stories as we aim to serve our communities.

Our conversation on the podcast is one a long time coming, as BinaBears was one of the main stories that I wanted to be sure to highlight when I envisioned The Banquet Hall. We discussed how impactful death and grief can be on a person, how your passion can help give clarity to your purpose, all culminating in how BinaBears came to be. I highly encourage each and every one of you to give considera...

The Banquet Hall is back with a special guest from Kyler's high school squad! Meron (musically known as Abyssinian Gold ) is from Los Angeles, California and has one of the most amazing singing voices. Take a seat at our table as we reminisce on eating cookies at the snack bar in high school at 7:30am, Kyler and Meron recording a song together, that one time she asked to touch his afro, and mu...

Tianna (they/she) is a writer, a big sister, and aspiring movie critic, who is infatuated with vampire media, the lives of trees, and collage-making. There are so many stories on this planet that deserve space in this world, and Tianna’s is definitely one of those. The best part is? We reserved a spot at the table for you to join us for the stories. Be sure to check out my website to learn more ab...

Kennedy is an optometry student starting her journey at Berkeley . Join us at the table as we talk about what optometry entails, growing into leadership as a young Black student, and of course, how on Earth she became a Clippers fan. Instagram | Foodie Page | Optometry Page

The Banquet Hall is back with a local San Diego artist, Lew Salem , who is also a member of the Black Xpression team. Join us for a deep dive into some of his inspirations as an artist, his love for Formula One, and a peek into how he sees his world as a creative.

Welcome back to Free Game Fridays! Each session of this 4-part series, we discuss an overarching topic, how it has manifested in our personal and professional lives, and provide some gems for listeners to takeaway with them. We all need somebody to lean on right? Everyone talks about the importance of community and support systems, but not enough talk about where to find it. For part 3, we are bri...

Precious is a full-time student, artist, seamstress, and Youtuber. I had the pleasure of meeting Precious during her first year at UC Zoom Diego. I interviewed her for a position at my job, and eventually got to co-supervise her. We frequently had conversations about her passions as it relates to fashion and business, movies that she hasn’t seen, and whatever else the day may bring. Pull up a seat...

Aliaya is a travel encourager from Los Angeles. Aliaya is one of the most well-traveled people I know, with voyages spanning several countries across multiple continents in the pursuit of curiosity. Our conversation has multiple stops in destinations such as building confidence in adulthood, traveling abroad, analog moments in a digital world, and much much more. Whether you have never left your b...

Paola is a holistic healer, an artist, as well as a licensed massage therapist from New York. She is also the only guest of the podcast thus far that I have a “secret handshake” with. Her specialty as a massage therapist is relaxation & mind/body integration, which is a great backdrop for this episode. Join us for advice on maximizing your massage experiences, how to live your life without lim...

Cambria is a podcaster (another 1/4 of FourDeepPod) as well as a dental student at Howard University. Cambria is one of the most ambitious people that I know and truly cares about the people in her circle. She is the first person I ever met that wanted to be a dentist, and I will never forget when I visited her in DC and saw her in her scrubs - she really be doing the damn thing. This episode give...

Welcome back to Free Game Fridays! Each session of this 4-part series, we discuss an overarching topic, how it has manifested in our personal and professional lives, and provide some gems for listeners to takeaway with them. As young adults who are hustlers, entrepreneurs, and perfectionists, sometimes we get caught up trying to do it all ourselves. This episode is all about utilizing resources as...

James is a graduate student, poet, & gamer from Sacramento, California. James is definitely a math person. This episode aims to unpack what it means to start any discussion with the assumption that Black Children are Brilliant. Combine that with Math Education, and I cannot wait to see the impact the future Dr. James King has on this world. The way that James talks about math education is enga...

Taylor (she/her) is a mother, caregiver, and social worker from Los Angeles. Our friendship started on AOL Instant Messenger (known to the OG’s as AIM), eventually became best friends, went to homecoming and prom together, and maintain a close friendship to this day! This episode is filled with laughter and heartwarming stories as we talk about the trials and tribulations of motherhood, alongside...

Irene is a blogger and graduate student from San Diego. I couldn’t think of a more suitable name for this episode than Storytelling as a Superpower because I believe that is a unique gift that both Irene and I share. We truly value the depth of meaning within the words that we use every single day. It is clear that we both also understand and appreciate the value of telling our stories, as evidenc...

Phe. Be is a multi-faceted artist from Ghana, currently in San Diego. Prior to recording this episode, Phe. Be had just appeared on CBS 8 performing one of her original songs. Seeing someone I know and have so much love for, doing what they love, on TV, was such a magical experience. On our episode, we get some behind the scenes to that morning, some tips on how to give better feedback to your art...

Salvador is a sound designer, composer, engineer, producer, and dancer from San Diego. Not only is he talented as an artist, but culture is so important for him, and that’s what made our conversation really engaging - a shared understanding, love, and respect for marginalized cultures. Sal is especially passionate about his border town communities, and gives us some insight as to why that it is im...

Sierra is from Los Angeles and is one of the co-hosts of the Black Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Podcast. Throughout our conversation, we discuss why she decided to get into podcasting (including a preview of a forthcoming pod, Moments We Gather , and get some behind the scenes stories from BGJWHF. If you are in search of some adulting do’s and don’ts, we also have a fun conversation exploring Sierra...

The Banquet Hall is back with another couple! Join us for a lively discussion with Evan & Brittany, two of San Diego's premier talents when it comes to the art scene. We shared a lot of laughs in this episode and a lot of gems. This episode was recorded not long after Brittany performed on CBS 8 as part of the Daygo’s Finest Series, so we got a little behind the scenes of what that day loo...

Introducing a new limited series brought to you by Black Beauty Near You and The Banquet Hall! Jaida is making a 4-part return to the pod to share some wisdom. Each session, we discuss an overarching topic, how it has manifested in our personal and professional lives, and provide some gems for listeners to takeaway with them. At the core of any business, project, activity, really anything we do, t...

Arielsela is a mutli-faceted artist and public health advocate. I was ecstatic to have Arielsela on the pod so that we could talk about all of the different phases and variations of Arielsela the person and the artist. She has learned to embrace multiplicity as she builds out her unique life pathway. This has led her on many journeys filled with discovery of self and the world as she grows more an...