This month we’re featuring gardens and Harambee! Click on any photo to enlarge it. And be sure to see our other post today, “Community Photo Albums.”
Spring is in the air and that means gardeners are out in force. Today we’ll focus on the work being done at Portofino Villas and the Jasmine Senior Apartments. Regional Programs Director Robin Hart reports:
“We observed Earth Day at the Jasmine by amending the soil in all
the beds and then planting new vegetables, including tomatoes, squash and
several varieties of peppers with a special grant for gardening from EngAGE. The
participating residents are very excited to start growing again.”
At Portofino Villas, “In May, [instructor] Rose and I will utilize a small gardening grant which EngAGE has obtained to expand the gardening area by using hanging containers and barrels. More residents would like to garden and we are trying to accommodate them. These new containers will help fill demand until the property ownership can fund the construction of additional, large rolling beds under the other arbors at Portofino, hopefully, in the near future.”
At NoHoSAC, the Harambee potluck (on March 28th, but we just got the pictures!) had the crowd cheering. EngAGE Programs Director Amanda Talbot reports:
“Everybody pulled together and brought Harambee to life. Trina Parks [the actress/vocalist/dancer/choreographer best known for her role as Thumper in “Diamonds Are Forever”) performed African dances and the infectious rhythms played by drummer Vinnie and his friends got everybody up and dancing. Vinnie is a friend of resident Tyrone Polk and had seen the Harambee flyer and asked if he and his friends could provide the music. He plays every Sunday at Griffith Park. They were a hit and it was impossible to stand still to the rhythm of the drums. Some people turned up in African dress. The Arts Program Manager had wanted to have an African themed potluck and asked resident Nailah if she knew of any African words that could sum up the event. Harambee was born. It is a Swahli word that means, ‘All pull together’ – and that is exactly what everybody did. The potluck food was as delicious as ever. Everybody made the evening special.”
