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It’s a Berkeley Sabbath.  

This Sunday, there will be communion in the streets: frenzied dervishes whirling to Juju and Charanga rhythms, pilgrims seeking transcendence at the bottom of a microbrew, and seers vending visions of other dimensions.  

Or, in plain English, a free music festival replete with food, drink, and art. The second annual Berkeley World Music Festival will kickoff at high noon in the crossroads of Telegraph and Durant avenues. 

Dancers will hear Orestes Vilato, a legendary Cuban timbale player, jam with San Francisco’s Orquesta Charanson, a Charanga band known for hard charging salsa. With Anthony Blea on the violin, the ten piece band carries on a tradition of one of Vilato’s original bands, Tipica ’73. Vilato has played with literally everyone- from Willie Nelson to Mongo Santamaria to Herbie Hancock. Also featured is Kotoja, a juju band of Nigerian and U.S. musicians headed by Ken Okulolo, himself a treasure of rhythm and musical knowledge.  

The street party could help revive the image of the Telegraph District as a cultural hot spot, which some residents say has tarnished over the last few years. 

“Telegraph’s more about shops, and shopping than culture these days,” says Carlos Juzang, a Berkeley-based illustrator. “People like to shop, but culture, you can’t say that’s really there anymore. Think about it - for businesses to stay there, they have to make money, and culture is something you can’t put a price to.”  

There will be plenty of culture this weekend, however. The free show will feature Brazilian music and Oakland-based poet and musician Avotcja, who recites and sings, accompanied only by a rain stick.  

Presented by the Telegraph Area Association, a coalition of merchants, residents, and students, who say they are dedicated to “achieving a safe and attractive area that will be an economic and social asset to the Berkeley community,” the street dance party will also serve up ethnic foods, microbrews, and arts and crafts.  

“I’ll go check it out,” says Drew Gauldin, a youth organizer who lives in Oakland, “but I think it’ll be a big crew of gray ponytails.” Regardless, those gray ponytails, the city of Berkeley will be swirling to the world groove all Sunday long. 

The Festival is also sponsored in part by KPFA, the city of Berkeley, U Berkeley, and the East Bay Community Foundation. Festivities last from noon to 6 p.m