The B-side of Baltimore: 19th Annual Boundary Block Party bridges music, fun and community

By Andrew Hall
AFRO Intern
Ahall@afro.com

No Boundaries coalition hosted its 19th Annual Block Party on June 27. Each year, the event highlights the “B-side” of Baltimore. Not the side that makes local and national headlines–but the lesser known scenes woven into the fabric of the city. This year, residents from the West Baltimore community joined together for an afternoon of fun, music, performance and more. 

The block party opened with comments from various speakers including Kireem Swinton, president and CEO of Visit Baltimore. 

“We recognize that everything is about the people we work for—the people we love,” said Swinton. 

As leader of Charm City’s official destination marketing organization (DMO), Swinton’s job is to ensure that visitors, jobs, economic opportunities, key partnerships, services and more come to Baltimore. 

“You want to see the truth behind the B-side,” said Swinton. “Just like a classic record, the A-side is the story that everyone tried to tell about Baltimore, but we want to build our own narrative.”

The warm, summer evening was complete with kickball and dodgeball games, music from DJ Cray-Zay and resources offered by local nonprofit organizations and small businesses. 

Lauren “Bemi” Byrd, a resident of Bolton Hill, expressed her excitement to eat barbecue from Chef Ziggy and to watch performances from Davon Fleming and more. 

“I really appreciate and love the work that No Boundaries does in our district of central West Baltimore,” said Byrd. “It’s really exciting to be able to partake in this space today with the natural habitat and the wildflower space. So I definitely wanted to come out and be a part of the vibes today.”

When asked why people should come to next year’s block party, Byrd noted what the event has to offer.

“Come see what your community has to offer. I think so often people have negative feedback because they haven’t had a chance to engage in all of the different things available to them,” Byrd said. “I think people tend to miss out on little gems like this—a block party that they didn’t look twice at—that had resources, entertainment, food, community vendors and networking opportunities.”

As people entered from Etting Street, they were greeted by organizations sharing resources to help community members be healthy, gain housing and more. April Wickliffe, an information referral specialist for Baltimore City Health Department’s Division of Aging, described the importance of organizations like hers attending the block party. 

“It is definitely important and essential for us to be out here because we offer resources and services for older adults, seniors, those who are aging and people who are disabled,” Wickliffe told the AFRO. “We want to get the word out and let them know that there are services here from our agency that can assist them with their day to day needs, emergency services and in-home care.”

She continued by explaining why organizations should connect not just with their community members, but also with each other. 

“It has been a great experience. I’ve been introduced to some knowledge from different organizations, nonprofit organizations that I wasn’t aware of,” noted Wickliffe. “I was also able to share my agency’s information with other agencies so that we can all best partner with our communities.”

In addition to grassroots organizations, small business owners could also be found promoting their products and services. Jamari Crump, owner of Lemontopia, detailed her block party experience. 

“This is one of my annual events, this is actually my fourth time with No Boundaries, and I just really enjoy the event. The community is always really informational, really nice and caring,” Crump said. “It’s always at a different park or neighborhood, so you get to showcase your business to different communities, but also get to see what different communities offer.”

Onlookers were treated to lively performances from the Baltimore All Star Marching Band and Lor Xay Xay, a 12-year-old rapper from Baltimore.

Lor Xay Xay told the AFRO he enjoyed the energy of the crowd during his performance. 

“It felt good,” he said. “I’ve been doing this since I was a little kid, so it’s like second nature to me.”

Performing alongside his parents and little sister, Lor Xay Xay said music is his passion and he plans to continue pursuing it long term. 

Rhonda Carr, director for the Baltimore All Stars, also spoke with the AFRO. She detailed the mission of her marching band.

“We’re a community based organization, so we’re always giving back. We have people from West Baltimore, Randallstown, Owings Mills, Woodlawn, Pikesville. We take kids from five all the way to people in their 80s,” explained Carr. “We do whatever we can to keep the kids off the street, and help with community outreach. Going to events helps them to see all the good out there, so that’s why we marched today.”

Carr gave credit to her mom, Johnnie Alston, for instilling her love for dance and band. Alston, who co-founded the Baltimore All Stars Marching Band in 2003, said it’s a great feeling to watch her band perform in spaces like the Boundary Block Party. 

Partners for this year’s event were the Black Arts District, Visit Baltimore and Druid Heights Community Development Corporation.