The one-day music festival at Mosswood Park is designed with a specific audience in mind: those without a home in Auckland.
where: Mosswood Park Amphitheater (off Broadway, south of MacArthur Boulevard)
when: Monday, June 12, 2-6pm
“Come and be yourself and enjoy music and entertainment just for you,” said pianist Joe Warner, who helped organize the Monday, June 12th event with Auckland First Presbyterian Church. rice field.
Warner said the festival, dubbed “Compassion in Action,” aims to provide homeless residents with a fun experience often left behind.
“Even free events and free festivals are often not welcome,” he says.
Warner will join headliner Dynamic Miss Faye Carroll. New Orleans-style brass band “MJ’s Brass Boppers” and blues group “Bernard Anderson & The Old School Band” are also lined up. Complimentary meals are provided.
Auckland First Presbyterian Pastor Matt Prinz said he received an art grant from the city to host the concert, and said preparations for the concert had been underway for months.
The church partners with Temple Sinai to run a food pantry each week, offering merchandise from companies such as Whole Foods and Good Eggs, which also plan to donate food to the festival. . Prinz said the food program used to be an opportunity to sit down and eat and get socially connected. Prinz hopes the concert will be an opportunity to reunite people, as they have switched to takeout meals during the pandemic.
Organizers disseminate programs that serve the homeless and visit homeless camps to inform residents about upcoming events. Warner said public park concerts are technically open to anyone but aren’t generally advertised due to the idea of prioritizing homeless communities. They are targeting a maximum audience of 250 people.
Mosswood Park was chosen because of its proximity to the amphitheater and church. The park has also been the site of many public struggles between housing and homeless residents in recent years.
“These public spaces become places where people from all walks of life collide,” says Prinz. He hopes the daytime concert will bring “a lot of positive emotions” to the venue for at least an hour in the afternoon.
Warner, who occasionally performs at church services, said he personally looked forward to performing in front of this audience.
“Music is so inspiring and life changing,” said the pianist. “It’s great that the art is delivered for them, for them.”
