On August 5th the Ithaca Housing Authority (IHA) helped sponsor the 25th annual National Night Out celebration. National Night Out is a police/community partnership for the prevention of crime, drugs and violence within a community. There was a party located in the Titus Towers 1 pavilion; however, the main event took place at Conway Park located next to the Northside developments. This year IHA partnered with the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) and Black Top Movement.
“A purpose of Night Out is to bring communities together as one, to break down the barriers, empower the youths and offers information from Human Service agencies,” said Brenda C. Westfall, the Executive Director of the Ithaca Housing Authority. “Usually we have in excess of 200 people that come out to this party every year. This is the 25th anniversary for National Night Out,” Westfall said. “We set out to make this party bigger than it was last year by bringing in more entertainment.”
Dennis “Shabazz” Lewis, head of Black Top Movement was the MC for all of the music and special guest appearances. “Tonight’s theme is youth empowerement” he said, “Some (youth) are very outspoken, but a lot of them are shy. For the shy ones that would like to express themselves musically or poetically ... we empower them to speak and let us hear their voice.” Lewis brought in a great show with DJ Emerson along with special R&B artists Elbonee Trece Stevenson from Erie, PA, Denise Garrett, Adolo and his partner in Black Top Movement Mbusi Ntombela. He also brought in Rap artists Crysis, Fya Marshall, Bad Newz and Ithaca’s own Ace Kingdom Assailants (A.K.A). Along with the musical artists were local Ithaca High School students G-Quan Booker and Kelvin Kim who performed a breakdance routine.
Teen rapper Patrick “Devilish” Booker of A.K.A. said the event was an opportunity to perform and to “show a little love to the community.” Booker said the experiences he shares with other members of his community are what inspire his art. “These are the ones who made us,” he said. A second member of A.K.A., Orande “Obuisness” McBean, added that “this is our home and we are extremely excited.”
Inside the park, many informational tables pertaining to the community were set up. Organizations represented at the free event included the Ithaca Housing Authority, Ithaca Police Department, Ithaca Fire Department, Bangs Ambulance, The Finger Lakes Independence Center, the Ithaca Youth Bureau, Big Brother Big Sister and the Southern Tier AIDS Program.
The event brought in around 300-400 people to Conway Park and was the biggest turn out they’ve ever had. Many from the community return every year and the event brings in a greatly diverse community. “The IHA greatly appreciates all of its volunteers; these are the people who make it happen. The number of people who continue to give back to the community is phenomenal” Westfall said, “we couldn’t possibly do it at this magnitude without them.” There are already plans for the 26th annual National Night Out to be bigger and better than ever.
View Event Photos
Watch The Breakdance Video
