This Sunday, students can visit Holt High School for a taste of local culture at Crossroads Community Center’s third annual CultureFest from 1 to 6 p.m. CultureFest is a community-focused event that seeks to encourage interaction between people of diverse backgrounds.
“In principle, we seek to go into primarily marginalized communities to present the University as a resource,” said Brice Miller, assistant director of Crossroads Community Center. “With that, we also contact various community-based service providers and organizations like Red Cross and United Way.”
Miller said they have a list of more than 40 organizations participating, including several student organizations, like Apwonjo. The goal is to bring all the resources possible to one place and make them available to everyone in the community.
There are mutual benefits for both students and the community. Not only is the community getting help and attention, but also students get an opportunity to experience culture.
“We all come from our little box,” Miller said. “At UA, we are encouraged to get out of our box, but often [students] step out of one box and into another. CultureFest lets them completely get out of the box and see the community outside UA and prepares them to be members of a global society.”
Often events like this can become more about the University’s needs than the community’s, but Miller said that the University takes a different approach. Crossroads takes an initiative they call the bottom-up approach, where they try to focus on how they can best help the community and give the community a voice first.
This is also an opportunity for students to reach out to other people in their community.
“Students do most of the coordination, and the bulk of what will transpire is because of student staff,” Miller said. “I put a lot of pressure on their shoulders but they always come through.”
Whitney Jones, a second-year intern for Crossroads, said she is excited about her first CultureFest.
“I could actually put a cot in the back, I’m here so much,” Jones said.
But Jones said it is worth it because it has helped her discover her major, public relations, and get an internship in New York City this summer.
“I started as a volunteer to get hours, but I’m still here [two years later] because I enjoy the fulfillment that comes from working here and because it has helped me broaden my horizons,” Jones said.
There will be activities for children, including storytelling and a magician. Samples of food will also be available, thanks to donations from local restaurants. Everything at CultureFest is free, including all activities, music and food.
There will also be music on the main stage on Holt’s football field. This year’s headliner is Taylor Hicks. Miller wanted to stick to having Alabama natives play, as they have in the past two years.
In addition to Hicks, Caroline Shine, a blues player form Holt, will perform. Apwonjo will also be bringing an African drummer, Emmanuel Agbeli, and Arrowtrim, a band composed of local law enforcement officers, will perform.
“This is a good opportunity to humanize the police, who are not always seen as friendly and as neighbors,” Miller said.
The Career Center will also have a booth and will be reviewing resumes and holding mock interviews. Target and Best Buy will be there looking for potential employees. In Holt’s gymnasium, three-on-three basketball will be going on all day.
Upon seeing the way people reached out, including students, Miller was touched.
“I had chills and tears the first year,” he said. “Last year, it was so cool to see downtown Northport transform and see a rainbow of people enjoying the festival. We hope to do the same this year to Holt.”
For more information about CultureFest, contact Brice Miller at [email protected] or go by the Crossroads Community Center in the Ferguson Center, Room 232. For students who need a ride, CrimsonRide buses will be giving rides from campus to Holt and back all day.
