Scene 6: Village Day

2 November 2013

Backstory: Each year, Maitland Garden Village holds a village day in celebration of the community. This year was the celebration of the 92nd birthday of Maitland Garden Village. Village Day consists of a parade, in which community organizations gather and march through the streets of the village. The community then gathers in central soccer field, surrounded by food stalls and shops set up by villagers. There was a stage in the front of the field, on which there were talent shows and beauty pageants that the youth participated in. We cheered for Gavin as the mc of the event and Ronell as she ran around the field making sure everything was running smoothly.

scene 6

Cast of Characters:

MGV Park Team: Lucine, Tyler, Katherine, Zack

Community Members, including Ronell and Gavin

 

Setting: Maitland Garden Village, the streets

 

Scene:

On Saturday morning we arrived at MGV to participate in the Village Day festivities. Village Day is a celebration of the community, this year celebrating the 92nd birthday of the village. We met with many members of the Green Light Project and marched with them in the parade through every street in MGV. We reconnected with many of the community members we spoke with earlier in the week and were introduced to other villagers to explain to them our purpose for being in MGV in the upcoming weeks.

As we marched by Perseverance Park we saw the park in use for the first time. There were two small children using the slide. We were all happy to see the park in use, but immediately thought of the rusted holes on the top of the slide that we had previously observed. This raises the question of whether or not we should immediately remove unsafe equipment from the park or leave in it for children to use while we create a redevelopment plan for Perseverance Park.

 

Reflection:

Participating in Village Day allowed us to feel like a part of the community. As we walked along in the parade, villagers that we had spoken to recognized us and came out to talk with us again. It was amazing to see the village filled with people, on their front stoops to watch the parade walk by. During the week, there are not many people on the streets outside in the village. It was great to see everyone coming together to celebrate their community. There were girls that marched and danced to lead the parade followed by what seemed to be a community youth band. Teenage girls who had won beauty and personality pageants in the previous nights activities rode in the back of a pick-up truck throughout the parade, waving and smiling. The community groups that followed included a group of elderly community members a part of a group called “The Roaring Sixties”. The ranges of talent and age groups that were present in the parade leads us to think about how we can incorporate the interests of these community groups into Perseverance Park.