Arts & Culture Forum - Monday, August 8th, 7PM @ Union Baptist Church Allentown PA

I would like to invite you to a fascinating conversation on the future of the arts in Allentown and, specifically, in our community. The Arts and Cultural Planning Committee of Upside Allentown has been engaged in a series of conversations to discover the ideas, thoughts, and comments on what the community wants in terms of arts and culture in our community.

Where: Union Baptist Church 6th & Chew Streets Allentown, PA 18102

When: Monday, August 8, 2016 Time: 7PM

The overall goal is to hear more from the community about what they would like to see for arts and culture in Allentown and to build stronger relationships between Allentown residents and across communities. To do so, the ideas, wishes, and hopes of the African-American community in Allentown are important and we would like to discuss not only what you think about the arts but how you envision responding to the following vision:

For 2021, we envision an Allentown with a vibrant, energetic and engaging downtown with an abundance of community-wide arts and cultural offerings. I would like you to think about our community and how you can imagine the role that the arts can, and should play in making Allentown a more livable community.

Our overall goals are to:

==> Inform all as to the feedback that has been discovered to-date.

==> Listen to ideas for how the vision will manifest itself in neighborhoods.

==> Gain feedback on what would get people to engage with arts and culture more.

==> Discuss your ideas for strategies for authentically engaging with neighbors and communities of Allentown.

==> Seek your input if you would be interested in helping with plan implementation and receiving further updates about the plan.

I look forward to seeing you then!!  Many thanks in advance for all of your thoughts and ideas!!

Sincerely,
Benjamin T. Hailey, Sr., Senior Pastor
Union Baptist Church

Upside Allentown has seven functional committees working on implementing a plan: Physical Enhancements, Housing, Economic Development and Employment, Education, Public Safety, Marketing, and Arts and Culture. More than 100 volunteers are involved.

The program will be jointly managed by the City of Allentown and Community Action Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley.