Since 2015, residents in Flint’s historic Civic Park neighborhood have organized a Music and Arts Festival with a simple goal in mind: to bring creative inspiration directly to neighborhood residents.
“We’re proud about the fact that people from Flint, born and raised here, are making a mark in any industry that they’re in,” said Avery Hunter, who was raised in Civic Park and was a co-organizer of this year’s festival. “I think it’s very important to showcase the talent here and let young people know, hey, we’re still here, we’re vibing, we’re vibrant. There’s life in the community and we want to be a beacon of hope for the next generation following us.”
This year’s event on August 9 featured dozens of vendors, including visual artists, poets, musicians, and other performers. It also included local food trucks, resources for families, and activities. But mainly, it was just focused on serving residents of one of Michigan’s most famous historic neighborhoods.
“It’s definitely important, especially in our neighborhood, to bring a platform that shows the diversity of all of our talents and gifts,” said Jordan Johnson, a program director at the Urban Renaissance Center in Civic Park and a co-organizer of the festival. “For our young people, to just show them and expose them to this world or these things that they might be good at, but might not even know it yet and see people right in your neighborhood that’s doing these things, it’s really important.”
Julie Hugunin, a musician, music teacher, and program coordinator of the FRYE Music Camp, brought musical instruments for kids to experiment with and learn about.
“They can come and I can teach them a few things on piano and ukulele,” Hugunin said. “We have a guitar, we can just chat a little bit. They can sign up to get information to sign up for camp next year. Just whatever they want.”
FRYE, which stands for Flint Rocks Youth Empowerment, is a yearly music camp for kids ages 10-16. They get to try out instruments, join bands, write an original song, come up with promotional items like a logo and buttons that get printed for them, and at the end of the camp, they perform their song on state at Flint Local 432. Information about the camp is available on their Facebook page, and there is also a GoFundMe Campaign to support the camp and an email list.
“When we got an invite to come into (Civic Park), it’s like, ‘Yes!’ This is where we need to go because we want everyone involved,” Hugunin said.
For artist and Flint native J Alex, the event represented a chance to share her work and also return home.
“I think it’s such a great thing for kids who want to venture off into a creative field such as visual art, music, or anything along those lines,” she said. “It’s good to come back to my hometown and be a part of this and for Flint to experience an event like this.”
J Alex works with paper, acrylic, and oil but also experiments with other forms of art. More information about her work and style is available on her website, Facebook page, or Instagram page. She is a graduate of Mott Community College and Wayne State University and has been featured in prestigious publications like Visual Art Journal and the Vougler Arts magazine. During the Civic Park festival, she was able to interact with kids and reminisce about her own roots as a creative Flint kid – or as she described herself, “I’m a Sunridge girl,” in a nod to her roots growing up in Sunridge Apartments.
“I used to be on punishment a lot as a kid, so my mom would send me to my room,” J Alex said. “Which wouldn’t really be a punishment because I would just draw. So I’ve always been an artsy kid.”
Organizers of the event credit the close-knit nature of Civic Park and the residents for making events there so warm and inviting.
“My favorite part is just the family energy you get here,” Johnson said. “I’m meeting a lot of the artists and people here for the first time, but it feels like I’ve known them forever. Just that village mindset we have here, I love to experience that.”
As a new steward of the festival, Hunter hopes that it keeps expanding and growing and showing kids in Civic Park the many opportunities that exist in art, music, food, and other creative endeavors.
“I think it’s very important (to do events like this), because this community is sometimes forgotten,” Hunter said. “Civic Park being on the National Registry of Historic Places is very big to us. A lot of great people came out of here, and I’m just glad to be a part of it and showcasing it.”
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