[TheState.com] SUPER SATURDAY: Columbia International Festival, Bark to the Park Draw Big Crowds

Columbia's hip and proud of it.

Kevin Felder has to feel comfortable taking his kids to hip-hop events, where he performs as the Christian rapper Big Redd.

Saturday’s Love, Peace & Hip Hop festival in downtown Columbia was that kind of event for the Felder family.

“Often, when people think ‘hip hop,’ they think of the negative images that are portrayed, and an event like this says the exact opposite,” Felder said.

A Columbia native and Dreher High School graduate, Felder was the first Christian rapper invited to perform at the annual hip-hop family festival, he said. Holding his 3-year-old son, Benjamin, with beats, rhymes and rhythms thumping around them, Felder praised the event for bringing the community together and shining a positive light on the hip-hop culture.

“People are out here from strollers to wheelchairs,” he said. “I think it just shows the commitment people have to positive events in our community.”

The event was sponsored in part by Indie Grits, which also sponsored Kindie Grits on Main Street in the morning. Kindie Grits allowed kids to animate their own short movies by drawing on film. Indie Grits continues Sunday.

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/news/local/article18875346.html