When you hear “homecoming,” you might think of parades, football and sashes. In some communities, a homecoming is a time to honor hometown connections through celebrations, often welcoming out-of-town guests, intergenerational participation, speaking opportunities, special music and a meal.
Christina Cultural Arts Center (CCAC) and The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew (SsAM) have launched a new Annual Homecoming Celebration for the Wilmington community. It offers dual events, targeted to both adults and children.
On Friday, September 28, 8-11pm, a panel of CCAC alum artists and small business owners will lead an informal discussion in the Clifford Brown Performance Center at CCAC, followed by a mixer. The event will highlight the many benefits and challenges of being independent artists and entrepreneurs. Expect live performances and live painting by local artists and food from Honeybee. No RSVP needed. $10 cover or $20 for an open bar option.
The mixer is a preview of the main event, the Soul of the City Block Party, on Saturday, September 29 from 12-6pm on Market Street. This open-air, all-ages, family-friendly celebration of art, music and community features family activities (scavenger hunt!), electric train rides, open houses, food trucks and craft vendors.
Live musical performances include appearances by: BRIZ and The Revival, The Blues Reincarnation Project, the Wilmington Children’s Chorus, The Vernon James Trio, Noelle Picara performing circle songs, and many alumni, ensembles and current students of CCAC.
Saturday festival vendors include Nude Food and Vern’s Fish Fry, Kristin’s Kreations, Sadiddy Hippie, Tasmiyah, Squeezebox Records, Photo Healing and more local and visiting artisans. There will be custom made jewelry, African clothing and exclusive oils.
Darnell Miller, head of the alumni committee at CCAC and one of the festival’s planners, said, “For us, the homecoming means [CCAC] alumni coming in and celebrating who we are in the community.”
Peggy Shane, a member and volunteer at SsAM, said, “SsAM has been a spiritual center on 8th and Shipley for over 200 years. One of our objectives was to bring the community back to SsAM, so it is a homecoming.”
Shane added that they reached out to create partnerships with community organizations that have the same foci as CCAC and SsAM. New Castle County Community Services is giving away a free horse riding lesson out at Carousel Park, as a way to bring the County’s vision to kids in the city. They are also partnering with Home Depot Kids Workshop and Delaware Art Museum for take-home kids’ crafts. The fire department will bring a truck and the police will be out to meet people in the community. Voter registration, library services and Habitat for Humanity will be on hand, and kids can take home seedlings to plant.
The founders say that the purpose of the festival is to unite the community and neighboring businesses and celebrate INdividual uniqueness, diverse offerings to the public, and ultimately use the arts to champion and celebrate all of the wonderful people supporting businesses and the revitalization of downtown Wilmington.
CCAC is the only arts education program in Delaware with a core mission to use arts education to promote school success, career training, and positive social behavior. CCAC offers quality music, dance, drama and visual art instruction to young and old, welcoming all abilities, ethnicities and lifestyles. Nearly 67% of CCAC students reside IN Wilmington and New Castle zip codes known to have Delaware’s largest concentration of poverty and low achievement in reading and math.
SsAM’s vision is to be a dynamic spiritual center which is active in the pursuit of peace and justice in the community, and a place where all of God’s people are honored. Regular community programming includes Zumba, drum circles and more.