It wasn't out on 34th Street and the spring rain was hardly a party, but the Cultural Block Party had enough free food and dancing to attract lunchtime crowds of students Friday afternoon.
"It would have been better outside, but we had a lot of fun," said Valentina Rodriquez, social chair of the Latin dance group OL..., which has performed in the festival both years. Forced into the Glass Pavilion due to inclement weather, the second annual Block Party joined 19 student groups to promote awareness of cultures and cultural groups on campus. Although the event debuted last school year in fall 2002, it was moved to spring semester this year in hopes of coinciding with spring fever and warmer weather. Inclement weather instead forced the event to relocate from its scheduled location on 34th Street between Wolman and McCoy Halls, but students said that they still considered the event a success.
"At first thought, I thought turnout would be bad because of the rain, but our food went so fast," said sophomore Samantha Simpson, who chaired Black History Month for the Black Student Union (BSU). "Everyone was trying everyone else's food and loving it." BSU, which made enough "soulfood" baked macaroni and cheese, cornbread and watermelon for 100 to 150 people, said that their food ran out within an hour.
This year, the Block Party unified 19 SAC cultural groups, each of which paid $25 towards a Baltimore City food permit but received $100 to provide free finger food at the event. Coordinator senior Jon Gross secured about $3,500 University funding support, including $1000 from the SAC, $2000 from Homewood Student Affairs and $100 from both the Office of Student Involvement and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. The money subsidized the $50 city food distribution permits and helped to acquire a professional DJ and to reimburse groups for food.
There was little publicity for the festival, since the outdoor event usually attracts visitors on its own, but Gross, who is the Cultural Liaison for the Student Activities Commission (SAC), said that the 12 - 4 p.m. event was "packed" in the early afternoon and was overall "as good as we could've hoped with the rain pouring outside."
Group members sat at tables around the Glass Pavilion distributing free food that ranged from sushi to tropical fruit, and from falafel to cornbread. Five student groups provided live entertainment, including the Black Student Union Slam, the Chinese Lion Dance Troupe, OL... Dance, the Egyptian Sun Dancers and the Indian dance group JOSH.
Gross said that cultural groups on campus "already have all this stuff -- food, dance, etc. They just needed a coordinator to get them together." The event drew over 1,000 students and community members when it debuted in fall 2002.
