Youth Day Block Party Brings Out The Community

Top: Winsome Bingham and Zahmya Knight. Bottom: Taking in the block party. Abiba Biao Photos. 

As author Winsome Bingham turned the pages of her book Fish Fry Friday, a crowd of pint-sized listeners followed her voice, eyes glued to the colorful illustrations on each page. At the end of the story, four-year old Zahmya Knight walked away with the biggest surprise of all: a signed copy of her own, and a chance to talk to the author herself. 

Slime-making, cupcake-decorating, author visits and rhythmic drums filled the air at Saturday’s Edgewood Youth Day Block Party, held on Edgewood Avenue between Winthrop and Sherman Avenues. As in years past, the  event was organized by Dwight Alder Frank Douglass Jr., New Haven Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers, and Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton, with support from a number of community partners like Possible Futures, the Greater Dwight Development Corporation, and the Greater New Haven NAACP among many others.  

It also marked the third annual Maternal Health Hub, a collaboration with Golden Radiance Village that included resources for birthing people, partners and babies from lactation support to prenatal and postpartum services that are culturally responsive and made by and for Black and Brown mothers. 

Other collaborators included the New Haven Coalition for Active Transportation (NCAT), the Youth and Recreation Department (YARD), the Livable City Initiative (LCI), the CT Cowboys and others.

Alders Hamilton and Douglass. 

“We just want to thank everybody for coming out today and supporting,” Hamilton said, addressing the crowd. “We have lots of food, a lot of fun, entertainment for everyone. No one pays for anything out here today. This is a free day, community day.”

Douglass seconded this theme. Alongside preparing his “famous sausage and peppers” for people to eat, he said that his favorite part of the day was fostering social connectedness and bringing Dwight, Edgewood, and West River residents together. 

“The best part of this whole day is leading up to this day,” he said. “We work so hard, the whole crew, everybody that’s out here, all the volunteers … So many people come out and get involved with this. Once we put the word out, they’re asking all year ‘When are we having our festival?’”

While Douglass represents Dwight—that’s Ward 2—on the Board of Alders, he said that he considers all of New Haven his responsibility. 

“I’m born and raised in New Haven, 72 years, and I love New Haven. I wouldn’t trade this place for anything in the world,” he said.

Bingham, too, is no stranger to the magic of the Elm City; this year was her second time participating in the block party. Despite being based in Ledyard, she’ll always make the trek to New Haven. 

She attributed her fondness and loyalty to the event to her longstanding collaboration with Lauren Anderson, the community-minded founder of the bookspace Possible Futures. The fondness is mutual: Bingham’s The Walk has also become a favorite for bookspace read-alouds, including last year on Election Day. 

“I look forward to doing this [event],” Bingham said. “I live quite far away, but I really like how, especially Lauren, how she opens up her bookspace to the community. That collective community and that support within the community — I will always support that.”

Zahmya’s mother, Myesha Knight, also spoke on the power of Possible Futures and events like Bingham’s sun-soaked sidewalk reading. She pointed to how any moment, no matter how small, can be used to practice literacy.

“When we’re out in play spaces like this, there’s literacy all around us. Like, for example, with my daughter, she’s still learning how to spell her name and she often forgets that there’s an ‘H’ in her name,” she said. “So, like, right now, how the tents have letters and stuff on them, so I’ll be like, ‘Do you see any letters from your name in that tent?’”

Blocked off with traffic cones and garbage cans, meanwhile, was the now-annual (and beloved) bike rodeo obstacle course. Littered with tiny cones, cyclists were tasked with maneuvering past the obstacles to reach the other side of the street, all while maintaining their balance and practicing bike safety by wearing a helmet.

Overseeing the course was NCAT Assistant Instructor Giulia Gambale. NCAT offers bike lessons for adults and kids, teaching participants bike safety and general maneuvering skills.

“The bike rodeo is really exciting because you never know who’s going to come in and what level they’re at,” Gambale said. 

While this was the organization’s third time hosting a tent at the block party, Gambale said that it was her first time helping at this event. In recent months, she’s been at previous block parties in Beaver Hills and has taught lessons at New Haven schools.

For Gambale, nothing beats when a student masters their balancing act and finally finds their stride.

“When they get those few first pedals in and they start riding on their own, it’s like an immediate smile on their face,” she said. “It’s so fun.”

 By 3:15, 21 kids had signed up for bike lessons. Gambale estimated that 40 to 50 kids would sign up by the end of the event at 5 p.m.. 

In just a flash, the storytime where Bingham had sat turned into a drum circle, inviting in participants of all ages. One by one, attendees joined the group and added to the rhythm by banging drums. Snacking on a chocolate cupcake, Zahmya couldn’t help but be lulled back by the beat, her mom watching the show right along with her. 

“[I have] just gratitude for events like this where the community can come together, especially when things are so heavy in reality,” Knight said.