CODY ENGLANDER
Staff Writer
“The African American Heritage House [has] become a place of history, culture, music and food. The block party takes that spirit outside,” Kwame Alexander, inaugural distinguished fellow at the AAHH, said. “It tells Chautauquans, ‘Just come outside your houses, come off your porches, come as you are. Bring your family, bring your neighbor, bring your curiosity.’ We wanted to create something that feels less like a program you attend and more like a party you’re invited to.”
For Alexander, substantive conversations with other Chautauquans don’t have to be solely at lectures — they can take place at a community block party. At noon Saturday, the AAHH will host a block party on Scott Avenue for the Chautauqua community. The block party will include live music from a DJ, a barbecue and homemade ice cream.
“I think sometimes the most important conversations don’t necessarily happen in a lecture hall,” Alexander explained. “They can, but they don’t all have to. It can happen when you’re standing next to someone eating barbecue, or eating an ice cream cone, or listening to music or watching your kids play, and realizing the person [next] to you has a completely different story than yours.”
The block party will play music previously performed at Chautauqua, while also featuring music intended to foster a welcoming environment, inviting conversations among Chautauquans.
“If you take the music that we’ve heard on the Amp stage over the years, from O.A.R., to Laufey, to Diana Krall, to Trombone Shorty, to Harry Connick, to Top 40, to pop — I think you get an amalgamation of all that. I think the DJ is going to [play] music that makes you feel good.”
Having the opportunity to spread ideas and create a community for Chautauquans to come together in a concentrated way is important to Alexander. He noted the block party doubling as a “thank you” to the community for the season.
“At the end of the summer, aren’t we all saying [thank you] about everything we’ve just experienced at this magical summer place?” Alexander reflected.
