South Side Organization Celebrates Black History With Free Gym Show
South Side Organization Celebrates Black History With Free Gym Show
BY KATHERINE NEWMAN
Like many others in the Englewood community, Asiaha Butler, co-founder and president of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood (RAGE), remembers attending gym shows as a kid where community members would perform and showcase their talents.
In honor of this memory and as a way to celebrate Black History Month, RAGE is hosting their first So Fresh Blackish Gym Show at Lindblom Park, 6054 S. Damen, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb 22nd.
“We wanted to do an old school gym show because back in the day when we were growing up, a lot of us remember gym shows at the park where they were showcasing programs from the park. It could be dance, tumbling, or whatever and they would perform. We wanted to uplift that for Black History Month and the culture of gym shows and then add a talent portion to it so people could also compete to win,” said Butler.
The event is free and will include food, performances, games, and a talent show. Those who participate in the talent show will be eligible to win cash prizes.
RAGE is a resident-driven association that was established to build relationships between residents, Englewood’s public officials, business owners, and other organizations in the community. RAGE is a grassroots organization that works to develop strategies that address community problems and create tangible solutions to those problems on a block by-block basis. They also host regular meetings as a way of actively keeping residents informed about the latest news in Englewood, according to the RAGE website.
“Really, the goal is always for people to learn about RAGE and what we do and to get involved. We always try to use the arts as a way for people to get involved because who wouldn’t want to come out on a Friday night and watch a talent show and a gym show and have free food and also touch base with the resident association that is doing work in the community?
We want to ensure that residents are active, they are safe, they can get involved, and they can learn about resources,” said Butler.
During the summer, RAGE hosts So Fresh Saturdays across the community as a way of engaging residents and promoting peace in the neighborhood’s parks. This first-ever So Fresh Blackish Gym Show is an extension of those So Fresh summer events.
“We are excited to keep our So Fresh event series going all year round. We do it in the summer and now we want to figure out how we can utilize these spaces that are here for our youth to be fun, family friendly, and support our local artists in the winter. So many young and older people want a platform to express their creativity and so why not provide that for them in honor of Black History month,” said Butler.
The So Fresh Blackish Talent Show Entry Form is available at https://bit.ly/2GL19bV. For more information, email joinrage@gmail.com or call 866-845-1032.
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