By Krystle J. Bailey
At Shore Local, we look forward to the annual “48 Blocks Atlantic City” celebration hosted by the Atlantic City Arts Foundation every summer. Like most things these days, this year will look a little bit different. In years past, the annual event included a city-wide celebration of the arts packed with larger than life murals, yoga classes, live painting exhibits, art classes, cover bands, story slams, happy hours, and more. The goal of the event is to engage the regional community in the celebration of public art in Atlantic City.
For the fourth annual event, the team at ACAF was challenged to bring the event to life virtually. Though, by the looks of things, it was less of a “challenge” and more of an open opportunity to create something special. Working alongside the School of Arts and Humanities at Stockton University, the Atlantic City Arts Foundation team rallied the troops to create a three-day virtual event that kicks off Friday, August 7th, and continues through Sunday, August 9th.
We spoke with the executive director of ACAF, Joyce Hagen who shared with great enthusiasm about the upcoming weekend. Hagen shares, “What has been really interesting is that each year, we try to remain flexible in the work that we want to do for the community. We gather information from the public about what worked and did not work well after each event. Over the years, we have gone through major transitions and we continue to look at how Stockton can continue their role as one of our major partners. This year, with the support of Lisa Honaker who serves as Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at Stockton, Stockton was able to devote staff resources to help us take 48 Blocks online.”
The event kicks off at 5:00 pm on Friday, August 7th with an Atlantic City music video by Shawn Rock and events continue through the weekend, coming to a finale with a performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by the Atlantic City Theatre Company.
The schedule is arranged in thematic blocks. The mornings set the tone for the day with yoga and events such as a “meditative nature walk” with Luanne Usinger and the “You Are Mona Lisa” project by Chris Galluccio.
Saturday afternoon is geared toward the young and young-at-heart including “Mad Libs for Kids,” “Haiku and You,” a workshop for youth ages 8-14, and “Tomkommedy” for Kids by local comedian, Michelle Tomko.
The early evenings are geared toward happy-hour segments such as “Mad Libs for Adults” and “Stories of AC.” The evenings settle down with relaxing events and theatrical productions including a dramatic reading by Aria Da Capo and “Dracula” performed by the AC Ballet.
Other events to highlight include Yvonne Battle-Felton who will present an online storytelling open mic entitled, “You Are Here!” During this event, which takes place on Sunday at 12:00 pm, five writers will be sharing fiction or non-fiction stories set in or inspired by Atlantic City.
On Sunday at 4:30 pm, Val Feo will be presenting a live segment from her home art gallery entitled, “So Val Art – At Home Studio Tour” where she will showcase her artwork as well as make it available for purchase.
On Saturday at 6:30 pm, Ray Tyler will present a live poetry segment for which he has invited several poets to read their original poetry in an open mic format.
Juggling lessons by Tina Notaro will go live on Saturday at 3:00 pm. Participants can use balled up socks or any type of balls to class.
The full schedule is available online at AtlanticCityArtsFoundation.org as well as on their Facebook page at ACArtsFoundation. You can also follow posts by using #48BlocksAc.
This is a free event curated by local volunteers, artists, and art enthusiasts from our area. It is a new experience bringing it to a digital format. We encourage you to join in on the fun and also remember to be kind, patient and encouraging when engaging with the artists. Sit back and enjoy what these incredible artists have created for you.
Let’s make it an amazing weekend as we enjoy the 4th Annual 48 Blocks Atlantic City celebration.
More information about the event is available at www.atlanticcityartsfoundation.org and on the AC Arts Foundation social media channels.
48 Blocks Atlantic City is a program produced by the Atlantic City Arts Foundation and its major partner Stockton University. It is a co-sponsored project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Stockton University.
The Atlantic City Arts Foundation is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit
Organization dedicated to increasing public art access and fostering community art education in Atlantic City, NJ. Through programs and partnerships, ACAF promotes arts-based tourism and economic development initiatives while increasing community pride and civic self-esteem. Programs include 48 Blocks
Atlantic City, Chalk About AC and ARTeriors.
Krystle J Bailey. Multimedia journalist, Author, Poet
