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Living In Baldwin
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Culture Jam tapped pre-Covid fun Chamber aimed to boost economy and community
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n Sunday, June 27, Baldwin’s first annual Culture Jam lured Baldwinites and their friends and family out of the Covid quarantine blues and into a sunny summer with a variety of entertainment, food, and drink in order to revitalize community and business alike. Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and The Irish Pub, this all-day event held at the parking lot of The Irish Pub had vendors put up tables to promote their businesses, as the chamber centered the “Get Back to Business” theme. The event began with a Car Show from 8 a.m. to noon hosted by the Baldwin Hot Rod Association. Paul Lizio, one of the heads of this association stated, “We felt that adding the cars to the event would be a good way to draw people outside and get together now that we are coming out of the pandemic.” From noon to 7 p.m. a live mural painting followed, which was curated by street artist and Baldwin High School graduate Poor Rupert. Artists showed off their chops with colorful renderings as the public watched and engaged with them, especially younger Baldwinites. Poor Rupert said that his hope for this event is to create awareness around this type of artistry, “Street art and muralism brings more positive things to a community than any of the other negative things that people may have in their heads about graffiti-type art.” Chamber of Commerce President Erik Mahler said that they wanted to do this event “to attract young people into Baldwin, to visit and shop in Restaurant Row and downtown Baldwin. It is vital to keep the young people interested in our wonderful community.” Along with live music, Baldwinites also enjoyed a cornhole tournament and raffles for hundreds of dollars in gift cards to The Irish Pub and Charlie’s Butcher and a new smoker to kick off some
summer outdoor grilling and drinking. The owner of The Irish Pub Shawn Sabel said, “The whole reason why we are doing this is to show how diverse how this community is. We have Jamaican, Irish, and Mexican cooks, and Reggae and Rock Long Island bands.” A portion of these donations will benefit Hangout One Happy Place, a Baldwin-based nonprofit organization that gives teenagers and young adults with special needs a space to socialize and safely engage in activities. Maureen Lennon/Herald
Top photo: Members of the Baldwin Hot Rod Association enjoyed the morning festivities of the Baldwin Culture Jam in the car show Courtesy Erik Mahler
Bottom photo: The first annual Baldwin Culture Jam, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, featured a car show, live music, a cornhole tournament, raffles and a mural painting event as as kickoff to a post-Covid summer.
