Mentors and Mentees Hike Mt. Higby!

On Saturday, March 26 the North End Action Team mentors and mentees partnered with Wesleyan volunteers for the Connecticut Forests and Parks Association and hiked Mt. Higby. We had a great time getting exercise outdoors and hope to do more hiking events in the future!

Green Street presents A Feast for the Senses

Friday, April 8, 2011
Preview - 5:30pm
Event - 6-8:30pm
Tickets will be available at the door or by calling 860-685-7871.

Escape the rain and transport yourself to the Caribbean at Green Street Arts Center's A Feast for the Senses silent auction event. Join celebrity host and master of ceremonies Ray Hardman from WNPR's "Morning Edition" and enjoy the sounds of live steel drum and Jamaican music performances, multicultural dances, a wide array of items for auction, stimulating conversation, and sumptuous refreshments. Proceeds from this event support Green Street’s tremendously successful Summer Arts & Science Academy as well as a new initiative, the Young Women's Leadership Institute. Last year's auction was the talk of the town—this year's is sure to captivate you!

Auction Committee Member Robert Mosca tells you more about it here.

Janis Astor del Valle returns to Green Street

Becoming Joaquin
Theater Performance
by Janis Astor Del Valle
April 1 | 8pm
Tickets: $20 Patron; $15 Regular; $10 Member
Call to reserve: 860-685-7871

Becoming Joaquin, written and performed by Astor del Valle, is a one-person play about the experience of being a transgendered Latino. Astor believes her play offers an excellent opportunity to bring together diverse groups to spark meaningful discourse about identity and foster understanding of the transgender experience; Becoming Joaquin is a don't-miss event. Read more about Janis’ experiences at our blog.

Call 860-685-7871 or email gsac@wesleyan.edu to reserve your ticket. Don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook.

Playwriting Workshop
Instructor: Janis Astor del Valle
April 2 | 1-3pm
Regular Price: $30; Member: $24

Delve in to writing your own show. A playwright, instructor, and performer, Astor focuses on the writing and performative processes involved in creating an experience-based piece.

Call 860-685-7871 or email gsac@wesleyan.edu to register.

Community Music is Marching into Spring!

This Saturday, the room rocked (literally) as we marched in the spring sunlight. Our feet and our drums beat time, we played loud and soft, and made some powerful music. Big thanks to Bill Carbone for leading the drum troops!

Other CMI achievements so far in 2011:

some seriously awesome air guitar playing

… and rocking out to “I love rock and roll!”

Singing in harmony for the first time! (sorry no photos, we needed every voice in the room to be singing with us)

Playing a theremin …

What’s that? http://www.thereminworld.com/article.asp?id=17

Eating delicious community-made lunches (no photos, we were too busy eating)

Performances of the Donkey Song on fiddle…

… and the Harry Potter Theme Song on piano!

Our next events are on April 9^th, April 30^th, and May 14^th… and stay tuned for the summer! All events are 10:30-1 at the Green Street Arts Center (51 Green Street).

On April 9^th we have Andrew Fogliano returning with a workshop called “A Fine Time to Rhyme”. Come learn some rhyming songs and even make up your own!

Voices United to Support Japan Disaster Relief

Check out the new office space

Thanks to a generous donation of carpet from the Community Health Center and some help installing the carpet from our new friends at Alpha Epsilon Pi the new office space is looking pretty spiffy. We hope that you will all come in and visit us at 654 Main Street.

Here are some pictures of the carpet going into the office. We wouldn't have been able to make it happen with out the guys from Alpha Epsilon Pi helping us out. They moved furniture, laid carpet and then put the furniture back all in one night!

Thanks Guys!

 
 

Skate Park Construction

After a long winter construction is back underway at the Willie Pep Skate Park. Check out the pictures below of the construction crew hard at work.



 
 

The Law of Gaga: Queer Citizenship on the Pop Charts

Sunday Salon Discussion Series
Sunday, March 27 | 2pm
Suggested Donation: $5

The social justice aspect of gay rights has been a prominent topic for years. As a part of the Sunday Salon Discussion Series at Green Street Arts Center of Wesleyan University, community members are invited to join University of Delaware Assistant Professor of Music Phil Gentry to explore these issues from a pop music perspective.

Wesleyan University alumnus Phil Gentry ’02 is a musicologist specializing in mid-twentieth-century American music with an interest in queer theory. Mr. Gentry will explore how and why several recording artists from Justin Bieber to Katy Perry have suddenly embraced the rhetoric of moderate gay activism. His presentation will examine the promises and pitfalls of when pop meets politics. For a sneak peak, check out our blog.

More about the Sunday Salon Discussion Series
The Sunday Salon Discussion Series is a monthly series of intriguing conversations with Wesleyan faculty, staff, and alumni, held this month on Sunday, March 27 at 2pm. Salons are held at Green Street Arts Center located at 51 Green Street in Middletown and are accompanied by treats from O’Rourke’s Diner. Admission is a suggested donation of $5. For more information or to register or any event in the series call 860-685-7871 or visit www.greenstreetartscenter.org. This series is co-sponsored by the Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies at Wesleyan.

More about the Queer Arts Series
The Law of Gaga event kicks off Green Street’s Queer Arts Series; featuring three other events examining queer identity, rights, and expression through performance, workshop, panel discussion, exhibition, and celebration. Events include

• April 1-2: One-woman play Becoming Joaquin and workshop by Janis Astor del Valle;
• May 21: The State of Queer Connecticut panel discussion moderated by Wesleyan Professor of History and American Studies Claire Potter;
• June 3: Queer Art Invitational / Safety Word: A Dance Party.

Click here to view more details on this series.

Spring Family Festival at Green Street

Saturday, March 19
10am-12:30pm
FREE

Spend Saturday morning with your family at Green Street Arts Center. Enjoy an art or hip hop dance workshop with Green Street teaching artists Lindsay Behrens and Eric Quiñones.

At 11am the whole family will be delighted by the tales of storyteller Len Cabral. All are invited to enjoy snacks for the duration of the program.

This entire event is Free!

Check it out on our website, on Facebook, or call 860-685-7871.

This event is made possible through the support of the Connecticut Humanities Council.

Miller/Bridge Documentary

Check out this great video done by the Wesleyan Advocacy film making class. NEAT is well represented. Thank you to all the students and staff who helped make the short documentary.

NEAT MONTHLY MEETING - Wednesday at 7 pm

Join us on Wednesday March 9th at 7 pm for the March NEAT meeting.

If you have any items that you would like added the the agenda please feel free to call the NEAT office (860) 346-4845 or email Sonia@neatmiddletown.org

WHY WOULD I BENEFIT FROM BECOMING INVOLVED WITH NEAT?
Many of the problems facing the North End are not unusual for urban neighborhoods but that doesn’t mean that the neighborhood should be passive. If the North End neighborhood is to be a healthy neighborhood it must have good housing for its residents, standards of public safety that encourage children and families to feel safe and thrive, a Main Street that has vitality, and a population of residents and business owners who work collaboratively and actively to ensure that the quality of life on Main Street, above Main Street, and behind Main Street is positive. Participation and resident/stakeholder leadership is the key to creating a strong, self-determining neighborhood that can identify needs, advocate for change, and gain the resources to ensure success. The more people that participate the more power the neighborhood has to make positive changes. Numbers Count.

Childcare is provided.

Homeownership classes start this Wednesday - limited spaces still available

Interested in owning your own home?

It might be easier than you think.

Homeownership Classes Start next week!

WEDNESDAYS, March 9, 16, 23, 30 6:30 to 8pm

This free workshop will help participants learn how to make the dream of owning a home a reality.

Rosa Carrero from Liberty Bank presents four info sessions designed to help people take the first steps toward buying a home.

Topics include:

Credit counseling (Session 1),

Finding the right home (Session 2)

The lending process (Session 3)
Understanding legalities (Session 4)

Childcare is provided. Call the NEAT office (860) 346-4845 to sign up.