The third Annual Waverly Beats and Eats Festival, an event organized by Waverly Main Street and co-sponsored by the University, was held Saturday on Merryman Lane to celebrate the people and businesses in the Waverly neighborhood.
Stalls lined the street, featuring local food vendors, record booths and clothing merchants. The stalls faced a large stage where many local bands performed over the course of the afternoon. The artists included Veronica’s Youth Steel Drum Orchestra, The David Bach Consort, Brooks Long & Mad Dog and No Good Chandra & The Ryze Band.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley also attended the festival. After playing guitar in Brooks Long & Mad Dog’s set, O’Malley strolled around the festival, shaking hands with vendors and snapping pictures with excited Waverly natives.
O’Malley praised the efforts of Waverly Main Street for bringing the neighborhood together.
“[Waverly Main Street is important] because they give the neighbors a focal point and an ability to gather and come together and celebrate what’s really good about city living,” O’Malley said.
The governor also highlighted the benefits of bringing communities closer together.
“All across our state, people are waking up to the truth that by being better connected to one another, we’re going to be safer; we’re going to be more prosperous,” O’Malley said. “And these Main Streets give us an opportunity to make the front door of a neighborhood look nice and attractive and inviting and welcoming. Many years ago before we started these Main Street programs, borrowing a good idea from Boston, we noticed that the neighborhoods behind the main streets looked a lot better than the main streets. And with a little bit of concerted effort, a little bit of funding, a little bit of organizing, we could make the main streets every bit as attractive as the neighborhoods behind them.”
Food vendor Sonja Merchant Jones, who sold out of her homemade chili, roasted chicken, saffron rice and string beans, said she appreciates the organization’s work.
“I love this community, and I love the Beats and Eats Festival,” Jones said. “Waverly is such a diverse community. We embrace everyone, whatever the issue is. As Chair of the Better Waverly Community Organization, it’s always my goal to find a solution for the residents of Waverly.”
Although the University co-sponsored the event, few students attended. The festival had been postponed for two weeks due to inclement weather.
“As equally important as the funding we get from Hopkins is the efforts we would get from Hopkins bodies,” sophomore Danielle Blustein, who volunteers with Waverly Main Street, said.
Sophomore Camilla Dohlman also said she was frustrated with the low Hopkins attendance.
“Most Hopkins students think Waverly is a scary place, and it’s really not,” Dohlman said. “There are tons of great stores. I mean, Pete’s Grill — everyone goes there, but no one really goes on the street. There’s lots to do, and people don’t really take advantage of it.”
O’Malley also noticed that there weren’t many students at the festival.
“You’ve got to take a break from studying,” O’Malley said.
Blustein explained that Waverly Main Street has a 10-year plan to revitalize the Waverly area by targeting the community leakage problem, a term referring to the tendency of Waverly natives to leave their neighborhood to shop, despite an abundance of local stores.
One of Waverly Main Street’s organizational goals is to create a sustainable local economy; Waverly Beats and Eats is one of many events to raise Waverly’s profile.
Waverly Main Street is an accredited program of the National Main Street Center, which strives to promote business development through community organization and neighborhood improvement.
“Waverly Main Street is an economic development organization; we work with the merchants and the communities that surround the Greenmount shopping corridor, and we try to improve the neighborhood,” Jermaine Johnson, executive director of Waverly Main Street, said. “We try to bring in new businesses, work with existing businesses and help them survive.”
