Mosley, Strawberry at Black History Fest

The Mission With Benevolence Foundation is bringing actor Roger E. Mosley and New York Yankee Darryl Strawberry to its fourth annual Black History Parade and Fair next month.

The nonprofit cultural outreach group is setting up planning and organizing meetings throughout January and is looking for volunteers to help.

“The Afro-American community is so widely dispersed throughout the Orange County area that we’ve found that the parade and cultural fair is an excellent opportunity for people to get together and see what other Afro-Americans are doing in their communities,” said foundation chairman Chuck H. Mosley, no relation to the actor.

Mosley said he expects 15,000 to attend the event, which will take place “come rain or shine.”

About 5,000 attended last year’s parade because it rained, he said. But, as many as 15,000 attended in past years.

The Feb. 1 parade will feature actor Mosley as grand marshal and Strawberry as a special guest. The lineup will also include marching bands, clowns, equestrians and drill teams.

Those interested in helping can attend any one or all four meetings on Jan. 9, 16, 23 and 30 at the Southwest Senior Citizens Center, 2201 W. McFadden Ave. in Santa Ana. Each meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.

The 1.5-mile parade will start at Broadway and 17th Street in Santa Ana, continue to Civic Center Drive, and then west to Santa Ana Stadium, where the fair will be staged. The parade begins at 10 a.m. and the fair opens immediately afterward.

A $2 admission will be taken at the stadium for the fair.

Applications for fair vendors and parade participants are still being accepted.

For more information, call (714) 440-8943.