Review of the Open-Mic Holiday Jam Event at CAC@SJB: Yet Another Wonderful & Inspiring Experience!!

A packed house full of happy faces inside the Center

at the Open-Mic Holiday Jam Event

As we celebrate the coming of another New Year "2007", two weeks ago in celebrating the spirit of Christmas and Kwanzaa, over 50 special guests (36 being teens and young adults alone!) packed the Center for the Arts & Culture @ SJB for our Open-Mic Holiday Jam 2006 event on Saturday, Dec. 16th.. and the reviews are unanimous! It was yet another incredible afternoon full of inspiration, amazing talent, and a lot of love at the Center for all who came with an open heart and mind! No one who took the time to visit the Center on this special day left disappointed. In fact, it seemed no one wanted to leave when it was all over!

Beautiful 8 year-old, Jasmine Kearse Canty,
opened the event with a special "Praise Dance"

It was truly another memorable experience in the short history of CAC@SJB that will not soon be forgotten. And how could we ever forget? The amazing and diverse talents of our community youth were on full display for all who attended.. and we can't wait to have them all back again this January and February for our MLK, Jr. & Black History celebrations!

The Wonderful Canty family.. (left to right) Jasmine, Beverly, and Malik

along with CAC@SJB Director, Glenn Angel at the Center

The blessed afternoon event began with another soul-inspiring "praise dance" by 8 year-old, Jasmine Kearse Canty. This was the 3rd event that little Jasmine has performed a dance at the Center, which she choreographed herself. She is one gifted and confident young lady.. and we look forward to her next performances at the Center in 2007 as well. Thank you for blessing us with your talent and your heart , Jasmine! We love you!

Little Jasmine shares a smile with Luis Bernard at the Center

Malik "The Word Bird" took flight to bless us all again
at the Center with his inspiring and thought-provoking poetry

After Jasmine started things off on the right note, the performances of poetry, music, and dance followed like a flowing stream. Jasmine's father, and long-time member of CAC@SJB since it's beginning in 2002, 'The Word Bird' Malik Canty got the open-mic going with his special brand of conscious, and inspiring poetry. As always, the Word Bird did not disappoint, nor ceaze to amaze all who were present. Malik was then followed by members of the promising, young, rap group called "Epi-F-Any", who performed at the Center for the very first time.. and they represented in a big way! We thank them for coming and blessing us with their talent.. and we definitely look forward to having them do their thing at the Center again very soon. A very special thanks to a very special young lady, Dominique Roberts, for introducing the young brothers to us, and having them come down to perform for us at the Center.. and also for helping us make this event happen. You showed and proved by getting so many young people to come down to the Center and participate with all of us. We are so grateful and proud of you. Keep doing your thing, Dominique. We are here for you.. anytime!

Members of the rap group, Epi-F-Any, take the stage over

Kyle rips it live as "Cyanide" awaits his turn

After Epi-F-Any rocked the Center, the open-mic segment of the afternoon was on.. and on it was! One guest after the other who signed up to perform or read their poetry just mesmerized all who were in attendance. It was the greatest display of diversity, talent, and emotion that we've ever had at Center for an open-mic event. It was enlightening, uplifting.. and just downright inspiring. The poetry read, the dancing, the musical performances, and the deep feelings shared were just amazing.. and quite simply.. unforgettable!

First time visitor to the Center, Errol, took us all on a deep journey with his heartfelt words and music

Supremely talented, Ian, shared his words and his "Krump" dancing at the Center

We were also blessed by performances from some of the poets who participated in our Spring 2006 Poetry Workshops that were facillitated by Mr. Luis Bernard of The In Progress Group.. like William and Rashid Locario, Cynthia "Betty-Boop" Jimenez, Karen Francis, and Dominique Roberts. We thank them for coming and representing our poetry family at CAC@SJB!

Talented SJB Teen, William Locario, shares his poetry at the Holiday Jam

Karen moves the crowd with her powerful voice and heartfelt poetry

The beautiful and talented, 17 year-old, Dominique Roberts, took her poetry and performance to another level at the Open-mic Holiday Jam

Things just keep getting better and better at our events at the Center for the Arts & Culture @ SJB.. and this Open-mic Holiday Jam event is a testament to that. We are so grateful to so many special individuals who continue to support our endevours at the Center from both near and far. We are appreciative to all of those who sent their blessings and well wishes by phone and e-mail messages for a very successful and joyous event .. which it truly turned out to be! We are also indebted to all those generous individuals who helped us prepare and decorate the Center for this special event, and made everyone of our guests feel absolutely welcome, and at home as soon as they walked in. Special thanks to Danielle Locario, Lucia Totoya, and Renato Jordan for all their assistance.

Guests fill up the Center, and take in all the poetry and performances at the Open-mic Holiday Jam

Glenn Angel shares some of his poetry at the Center

The greatest thank you's go to all of the community youth, teens, young adults who came from all over to visit the Center and participate at our Open-mic Holiday Jam event. We were so inspired and happy by the big turnout of so many gifted and talented young people who came to share their gifts and show their support for one another at this special event. WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! That's the main reason why we're here.. and we will continue to be for as long as our Good Lord Jesus allows us to be.. to open the doors for EVERYONE in our community, and to share the many gifts that we've been blessed with.. with all of you. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Luis Bernard takes over the Center with his powerful poetry and soul-stirring performance

Special thanks to our very own Pied Piper of Poetry, Luis Bernard, for blessing us with his incredible poetry, and for doing a wonderful job hosting the event. It's an honor working with Luis reaching out to all the talented teens and young adults who too often go on unheard and disrespected here in our very own community. We are committed to giving these young people every opportunity to be heard and honoring them for having the courage speak up and speak out. No poetry event would be the same at the Center without Luis.. for his dedication to the youth, and his dedication to us here at the Center, we are forever grateful!

To all our St. John the Baptist parish families and friends who faithfully continue to support and encourage our arts ministry and volunteer efforts here at the Center.. like Howard Folk and family, Francis Locario and family, the Springer family, Sr. Ann-Marie & the Daughters of Charity, the Vincentian community, FAMVIN, and so many others that have made their presence felt since the very beginning. Thank you for your constant prayers. This wouldn't be possible without you. We look forward to our next events at the Center which are coming soon. Keep posted to this website for news of all our upcoming events and workshops. Remember, these events are free and open to everyone in our community.. especially those who have never stepped inside of SJB Parish Center before. We are here to serve our community.. one soul at a time.

A full house of young people at the Center representing our community

We hope to hear from all of those who were present at the Open-mic Holiday Jam event. Please, share your comments, feelings, and thoughts with us regarding the event, and the Center itself. We'd love to know how you feel. You can post your comments here on the Center's blog, or e-mail us at CACSJB@yahoo.com.

Until the next time, we hope your Christmas and New Year holiday was a very special one with your family, friends, and all your loved ones. May this New Year be one filled with many blessings and prosperity for you all.

Peace!!