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Legacy Park Family Festival returning as an in-person event this year
For the first time in two years, the Legacy Park Family Festival is back as an in-person event on June 4.
The annual summer kick-off event was held virtually over the pandemic and will be back with familiar favourites and fresh new features. Some of the offerings will include face painting, glitter tattoos, the petting zoo, and a video game trailer.
“Community groups are coming back as well, providing activities for people to partake in while still promoting some of the great things that they do within the community,” said Arthur Lewandowski, community events and tourism specialist with the city.
Food trucks will be back on site, and performances, including the musical talents of Phyllis Sinclair, a local Indigenous artist, and an afro dance session taught by the Fort Black Society will take place throughout the day. A schedule can be found here.
Some new additions this year are inflatables, including bouncy castles and the euro-bungee. According to Lewandowski, a caricature artist will be on-site, which is a first for the festival.
In addition, the Yellowhead Rail Club will open up their doors at the CN Station so that guests can view Fort Saskatchewan’s model train display.
The star of the show, however, will be the Sheep Returning Parade at noon. The decades-old tradition will welcome the fuzzy flock as they parade from the River Valley to their summer home in Peter T. Ream Historic Park.
Community groups will be providing wristbands for people to take in activities, which will cost $2. The festival runs from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Lewandoski thanked the event’s supporters, including Keyera, which has supported the festival for over 25 years.
Events to reflect on Vincent Chin’s legacy » WDET 101.9 FM
Metro Detroit is hosting a series of events to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the murder of Vincent Chin.
In 1982, Chin, a Chinese American, was beaten to death in Highland Park by two white men who worked in the auto industry. His assailants served no jail time.
His death catalyzed the Asian-American community to mobilize against hate crimes and injustice. Those that advocated on behalf of Vincent Chin say they were able to improve the criminal justice system.
“Out of that whole period came a movement of what is now called victim impact statements, the right that somebody who is harmed to speak in court on behalf of themselves,” says Helen Zia, a co-founder of American Citizens for Justice, which formed after Chin’s murder. She drew parallels to the more than 200 statements delivered by sexual assault victims during the sentencing of Larry Nassar. “This is a movement that’s happened for people who were subject to crimes to say this is how I was affected. This is something the Vincent Chin case was part of.”
Mayor Mike Duggan says the group’s advocacy resonates today but the work continues.
“We still have a long way to go, as we saw in the case of George Floyd, in having a criminal justice system that treats everybody the same.”
The four-day commemoration of Chin will take place June 16-19 throughout Metro Detroit.
Jim Shimoura is another co-founder of American Citizens for Justice. He says the forthcoming events will be an opportunity to reflect on Chin’s legacy.
“The program includes an Asian American film festival, a national dialogue in community conversations on race and equity in 2022, as well as performances by Asian American artists and public art.”
Anthony Lee is working on a mural of Chin in Detroit’s Chinatown on Cass Avenue. He says his death is not the end of his story.
“That can’t be the end of the narrative. I need it to be more. I need to know that we have a pulse. This can’t be just where it ends,” Lee says. “There’s lots of things in the work and a lot of people with a sense of urgency, now more than ever.”
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Legacy on the Bricks takes worry out of creating special events; now booking into 2023
KEARNEY — Bailey Bolte always dreamed of being a wedding planner. Now she has achieved that dream.
On Dec. 1, Bolte and her husband Cody opened Legacy on the Bricks at 16 W. 21st St. It’s a venue for weddings, receptions, anniversaries, graduations, quinceaneras, birthdays, bridal and baby showers and more.
It can seat up to 450 people. Its large windows allow sunlight to warm and brighten the dining room. Its walls are white and the floor is gray so clients can decorate in any color scheme they choose. They can choose from black, white or gray table linens.
Legacy on the Bricks has been three years in the making.
Bolte was a paramedic with CHI Health Good Samaritan for five years until she married Cody in the summer of 2019.
Bailey Bolte, right, consults with a couple about an upcoming event. She prefers that people make reservations to meet with her, but walk-ins can sometimes be accommodated.
Then, seeking more conventional working hours, she opened The Wedding Sisters in June 2020. She runs that business out of her home with the assistance of her sisters Brianna Paxton; Kimberly White and her husband Mahlon, and sister-in-law Chelsey Petersen, who lives in Minden. They rent linens, custom centerpieces, aisle runners, tables, chairs and other items for weddings and other celebrations.
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She loved that venture, but she and Cody still dreamed of owning a wedding event venue. They scouted the region for a location, but came up empty. “We started planning back in 2019, but then COVID hit, and that stalled everything,” Bolte, a Minden native, said.
One morning, not long after Bolte delivered son Ryker in October 2020, she happened to drive by the building at 16 W. 21st and noticed that the east end, the former home of Jacobi CarpetOne Floor & Home, was empty. Jacobi had relocated to a new site on Kearney’s north end.
“I was driving with my little newborn and I saw the ‘for lease’ sign. We looked at it that afternoon and ended up buying the whole building,” she said.
Bailey Bolte poses outside with the sign on the door at Legacy on the Bricks at 16 W. 21st St.
The purchase was final in June 2021. They spent the next six months renovating the 8,000 square feet they use for Legacy on the Bricks. Fitness 101, a 13-year-old business, remains in the building’s other half.
The Boltes tore out everything except the support beams. They put in new plumbing, heating and air conditioning. They painted, installed carpeting and put in a state-of-the-art speaker system, along with seven 70-inch television screens, a sound system, six chandeliers and lights to change the color of the room.
They also put in tables and New York-style venue high-end chairs rather than standard banquet chairs. While the venue can seat up to 450 people, Bolte said tables and chairs can be arranged for groups of any size. “We can get creative,” she said.
So far, business is off and running. Bolte has planned 23 events for 2022, including birthday parties, anniversaries, quinceaneras, weddings, preschool programs and quilting shows. The entire month of June 2023 is booked, and July 2023 isn’t far behind. “We still have available dates for 2022, and a few open weekends, but the community has embraced us. It’s been awesome,” she said.
She and her husband run the business by themselves. They expect their second child, a daughter, on March 15.
Bolte knows how critical wedding planning can be. She and Cody were to get married at the Younes Conference Center on Aug. 3, 2019, but when floods tore through that structure on July 9, those plans suddenly changed.
Tables are elegantly understated for events at Legacy on the Bricks, including weddings, birthdays and showers.
“I was working that day helping move guests out of hotels, and I knew right away our wedding wasn’t going to happen there,” she said. But they couldn’t find another available venue that would hold their 600 guests.
Then Barb Petersen, Bolte’s mother, called the Kearney County Fairgrounds in Minden. The fairgrounds were to be closed that day in preparation for the county fair, which was to start the day after the wedding. “But I prayed about it,” Petersen said. “The next morning, the fairgrounds called. They said they would let us rent it if we had it cleaned up before Sunday morning.”
Peterson, who owns her own design business, Classic Interiors, led 80 friends and relatives in transforming the fairgrounds into a beautiful wedding venue.
“We put lights on the ceiling. Friends steamed all the tablecloths. It was so special. So many helping hands showed up. Neighbors, the community of Minden and our family really came to our rescue,” Bolte said. True to their word, they had it all cleaned up by 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
That’s partly why Legacy on the Bricks can accommodate 450 guests. Few event sites in Kearney can hold large crowds.
Flowers and big, bright mirrors make the ladies room an inviting place.
Bolte also did last-minute wedding planning for her sister Brianna’s wedding in May 2020. The ceremony was to happen in Minden, but Brianna’s fiance was in the U.S. Air Force, and when COVID-19 hit, he was not allowed to leave Georgia.
“We all loaded up in a 49-foot motor home pulling a 14-foot trailer,” Petersen said. “I sent blueprints to a landscaper in Georgia, and he built a stamped concrete patio and a pergola. We transformed her backyard in just three days, even staining the fence and doing landscaping.”
Bolte added, “It was an intimate wedding, with fewer than 20 people, but we made it beautiful. We love thinking on our feet. We’ve probably been through any situation people might bring us.”
She and Cody named their business Legacy on the Bricks because both lost a beloved grandparent in May. “We started talking a lot about legacy, and we realized people can start their legacies in our venue. We like to say, “Your legacy starts here,” she said.
Honouring a prestigious legacy and an extraordinary man
The James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies celebrates 25 years of excellence
Dr. OmiSoore Dryden organized and co-hosted the event with Charla Williams, great-niece of James Robinson Johnston.
The atmosphere was one of joyful celebration in the McInnes Room of the SUB on March 10 for the James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies 25th Anniversary Celebration. Members of the Johnston family — descendants of chair namesake Mr. James R. Johnston, the first African Nova Scotian person to earn a Dalhousie degree — joined Dr. Deep Saini, President, Dr. Frank Harvey, Vice-President, Academic; Dr. Alice Aiken, VP Research & Innovation; Dr. Theresa Rajack-Talley, Vice-Provost, Equity & Inclusion, and other members of the senior administration; the larger Dalhousie, and broader local community for the event.
The evening began with a drumming ceremony by Drummers from Home, who opened the space with African and world beat rhythms. The ceremony was followed by a land acknowledgement from Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, the current James R. Johnston Chair who organized and co-hosted the event with Ms. Charla Williams, a descendant of Mr. Johnston.
Charla Williams is a great-niece of James Robinson Johnston, the middle child of seven born to Aleta, his niece and daughter of his brother Clarence. Ms. Williams attended the Transition Year Program at Dalhousie and completed her degree in 2007 and worked for more 40 years in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The James R. Johnston Endowed Chair in Black Canadian Studies honours Mr. Johnston and his accomplishments by building bridges between academia, locally and nationally, and the wider African descended communities through scholarship, research, and community engagement.
A prestigious legacy
The James R. Johnston Chair is a significant senior academic post in Canada, established to honour not only the life of Mr. Johnston, but also to recognize and honour the unique historical presence of African Nova Scotian people. From the beginning, the Johnston Chair has been rooted in engagement with African Nova Scotian and Black communities, as noted by Dr. Dryden.
“Mr. Johnston was a family man and to properly fulfil the principles of the Chair and to honour the legacy of Mr. Johnston means developing strong ties with the family. The Johnston family has embraced me and supported the work of the Chairs over these past 25 years. I always knew that to have a successful celebration meant to centre the family. Black studies is rooted in radical political and activist movements, and Nova Scotia has vibrant and politically active African Nova Scotian communities, including the Johnston family. The Johnston Chairs have always acknowledged the centrality of community in Black studies,” says Dr. Dryden.
In his remarks, Dr. Saini echoed this connection as he welcomed the family to Dalhousie for the milestone event. “You are such an important part of Dalhousie’s history, Nova Scotia’s history and indeed the history of this country,” he said.
“Twenty-five years ago, Dalhousie University made history by becoming the first university in the country to create a dedicated, academic position devoted to Black Canadian Studies. Since then, four nationally recognized scholars who have held this position have each made ground-breaking contributions through their perspectives in the study of the Black citizens of this country and beyond.”
“The dedication shown by the people and institutions in initiating this position was a testament to the power of collaboration — among the university, government, industry, and the community. Nothing has changed in that regard in that there’s nothing we can’t accomplish if we work together,” Dr. Saini added.
A celebration of the Chairs
Dr. Dryden noted the evening commemorated two anniversaries: the 25th anniversary of the Chair and the 30th anniversary of the endowment that made it possible. Members of the family offered their remarks throughout the night and the event featured a celebration of the Chairs:
- The Inaugural Johnston Chair (1996-2002) was Dr. Esmeralda Thornhill, situated in the Faculty of Law, the same faculty from which Mr. Johnston graduated. Dr. Thornhill, a fluently trilingual and eminent legal scholar, was instrumental in co-developing the path-breaking course, Critical Race & Legal Theory: Race, Racism and Law in Canada, perhaps the earliest of critical race and law courses in Canada. Professor Thornhill collaborated and partnered with a group of local, national, and international organizations, to plan and host an international initiative marking the United Nations third Decade Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
- The second Johnston Chair (2004-2009), Prof. David Divine was hosted in the Faculty of Health — then Health Professions. Prof. Divine is a scholar of social work. His areas of research includes, social housing, addressing social exclusion, Black men’s sexuality, service delivery, HIV/AIDS, and immigration. Prof. Divine planned several national and international conferences, specifically the 2005 national conference: Multiple Lenses: Voices from the Diaspora located in Canada.
- Dr. Afua Cooper, the third Johnston Chair (2011-2017), was situated in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dr. Cooper’s areas of research address African Canadian, abolitionism, women and gender, the Black Atlantic and slavery. She is a historian and a dub poet. Dr. Cooper developed the first Black Studies minor at a Canadian university and established several networks, including the Dalhousie Black Faculty and Staff Association, and the Black Canadian Studies Association.
Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, the fourth and current James R. Johnston Chair (2019-present), is situated in the Faculty of Medicine. The first queer person to hold the chair, Dr. Dryden’s research engages in interdisciplinary scholarship that focuses on Black LGBTQI communities, anti-Black racism in health care, medical education, and Black health curricular content development. Dr. Dryden hosts Chair Chats for Black students in health professions and graduate school and helped to establish the Sophia B. Jones Mentorship program for Black medical students at Dalhousie. Dr. Dryden is the co-lead of the new national organization, the Black Health Education Collaborative. Most recently, Dr. Dryden piloted the creation of the new Black Studies Research Institute at Dalhousie, which will focus on Black studies in STEM.
Dr. Judy MacDonald, Director of the School of Social Work, helped to unveil a portrait of Prof. David Divine, the second Johnston Chair (2004-2009).
Two portraits of the Chairs were unveiled during the celebration: that of Dr. Afua Cooper (FASS) and Prof. David Divine. Dean Jure Gantar (FASS) was on hand to unveil the portrait of Dr. Cooper, who was unfortunately unable to attend the festivities. Dr. Judy MacDonald, Director of the School of Social Work, was on hand to help unveil the portrait of Dr. Divine.
“The Chair is unique in that it is very much a part of the community here. She or he is responsible and accountable to the community which paved the way for this very prestigious position,” Prof. Divine said. “And we in turn as individual Chairs must be transparent in what we do and show what we are doing, and that is critically important. We must be collaborative and work with others as equals. We are not more important than anyone else; we are part of everything else. This is a hugely important facet of this position.”
Prof. Divine added that he was deeply grateful to the family of James R. Johnston for their support during his tenure as Chair and received a standing ovation for his heartfelt remarks.
The celebration ended with a recognition of Mr. Johnston’s birthday on May 12
The event ended with a closing drumming ceremony from Drummers from Home and a surprise for guests. Each table was adorned with chocolate cupcakes in recognition of Mr. Johnston’s birthday on March 12. To celebrate these milestone anniversaries and the birthday of a remarkable man, guests sang Happy Birthday to ‘Uncle Jimmy,’ as he was known to his family.
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