A place to gather
The neighborhood archive records the Block Association’s support for Olmsted Salon, bringing jazz, literature and theatre into the community around St. George’s.
In February 2017, the newsletter identified the Block Association as a sponsor and invited neighbors to a Jazz in the Cave performance by the Dominick Farinacci Quintet. The venue was at St. George’s on East 16th Street, a familiar institutional partner beyond the Park’s immediate perimeter.
A continuing conversation
The invitations continued in 2018. A March newsletter featured a Jo Lawry performance, with Jazz in the Cave curated by Alex Nguyen. These notices show cultural programming taking its place alongside service projects and practical neighborhood news.
Supporting local cultural life can be as simple as helping neighbors discover a performance and the people making it possible.
A varied program, repeatedly shared
The 2017 notices included Martina DaSilva with Steven Feifke Strings, David Liebman, and Adam Larson with Nick Finzer. In 2018, the Block Association shared performances by Rodney Green, Xiomara Laugart, Jonathan Ragonese with Steve Wilson, and Dayna Stephens. These are examples from the historical program, showing the range of artists neighbors were encouraged to hear.
2017
Theatre joins the program
An earlier May notice announced a free May 26 reading of John Kolvenbach’s On an Average Day, directed by Dusty Brown. It was part of a theatre program that continued through the year.
The program also made room for staged readings. The Block Association’s June newsletter announced Clifford Odets’s Awake and Sing! for June 23, 2017, with Seadog Theater and Len Cariou at The Cave at St. George’s.
A September notice invited neighbors to a September 29 reading of Margaret Edson’s Wit. Both events were advertised as free.
Sources
Sources include the Block Association’s May, June and September 2017 Olmsted Salon announcements.