The Annual August Moon Festival in Chinatown; National Night Out in Mattapan; The Boston Lyric Opera's Summer Night Concert Tour in Moakley Park, South Boston; Mayor Michelle Wu unveils a $40 million grant program for affordable housing; interview with Mireille Tushiminina and Niu Raza for the African Festival of Boston.
WBCA Podcasts
Boston Neighborhood Network News
(upbeat music) - Welcome back Boston, and thanks for tuning in to BNN News. It's Friday, August 16th, 2024. I'm your host, Natalie Kintler. Every year the community in Boston's Chinatown comes together to share the traditions of the August Moon Festival. (cheering) In Chinatown, joy and excitement was palpable at the annual August Moon Festival. Put on by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England. (upbeat music) The August Moon Festival is a vibrant celebration of Chinese culture that highlights cultural traditions while also bringing together people from all walks of life, emphasizing our shared values and diversity. The August Moon is a wonderful celebration. We learn about the Chinese culture and heritage, and it's about bringing people together. And through these festivals, we learn and respect more about each other and celebrate our diversity. And it brings people together. (upbeat music) Second, only to New Year, August Moon, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, is the most important cultural holiday in the Chinese culture, focusing on joy, health, and thanks for a bountiful harvest season. Embracing different cultures is very important. You get to really take away the beautiful arts that are similar between many cultures, and you get to learn about the different people out there. Share a lot of different foods and music and really just explore. Over there watching the lion dances, and it's cool to see that a bunch of people of different ethnicities and backgrounds all coming together to put on this really cool cultural dance. And obviously you can see there's a lot of people here that aren't just of one ethnicity. So it's cool to see that there's lots of different people coming together. Audiences watch performances from martial artists and dancers, while traditional games, food, and vendors fill the streets. The event fostered mutual respect and celebrated the rich tapestry of cultures that make up the diverse communities of Boston. I'm actually a dancer myself, so it's always beautiful to see other dancers sharing their joy. No matter the culture, no matter the dance, they're always there to share who they are, what they love, and just engage the energy and the crowd. And it's really beautiful to see. We all value time with our families. We all value being a good neighbor. And coming here, you really see that, you know, from culture to culture, we're not so different. And I really value that. And Boston is such a great place to see that every day. Building trust between law enforcement and community members is essential for keeping our communities safe. And last week, that trust was built up even more at National Night Out in Matapan. We're here at National Night Out, which is a really important animal tradition. Here in Boston every single day of the year, we celebrate the partnerships between community members and public safety. But once a year, we really want to make sure we're highlighting all those who do this work in the community to have that two-way relationship is the foundation for safety across every neighborhood. It's making sure we know what the concerns are in community. And also community members know they can trust and rely on what they need happening from the worker, the police department and every other city department. At this National Night Out is so important because this opportunity for us, to actually build more trust with the public. We can't do our jobs and provide public safety unless the public trusts us. And the more they trust us, the more we can talk to them, they can talk to us and figure out what the problems are in the city and so we can try to address them. If there's trust between the community and the police, you know, when things happen, it'll be much easier for the community to respond to the police and not in an aggressive manner. Once they know there's some really good officers out there who are really trying to help keep the community safe, you will have the community that will connect with the police. So you've got to show the respect to get the respect. - The partnership between the police and the community is especially vital in neighborhoods like this because these are neighborhoods where longstanding trust has been challenged with especially over recent years with some of the most recent events. And it's important to maintain these relationships because that's where the strength is and that's how we keep our community safe with the partnership and with the residents because we rely on them for information. We rely on them to keep us informed. We rely on them to continue to partner with us because that's how we continue to make our neighborhood safe. These nights are so important because of the fact that it begins a relationship at a very young age for children. They begin to see themselves wanting police officers. They begin to have the trust that they can go and have confidence where to talk to them about an issue. They begin to understand that the one that they could be a police officer. And so having nights like this where police, children and community come together, make it so that we have a stronger community moving forward. - Last week, the Boston Lyric Opera continued their summer nights concert tour throughout the city, bringing the street stage to Mokely Park in South Boston. ♪ Boston was in honor here ♪ - Well, it's great to have the Lyric Opera here in Mokely Park in South Boston. I think that it's bringing in a whole bunch of new folks that have never perhaps heard an opera and it's great to see the kids running around and playing and listening to the music. Hopefully it becomes an annual event and people will begin to support the Lyric Opera, not just here, but throughout Boston. - This is the first time we've all actually heard the opera outside and we've been inside before, but this is nothing like that. It really feels like you're almost having a party in your backyard, but yet you have these incredible opera singers with nature around in the sounds of the city. - I think this is a wonderful opportunity for the neighborhood. And we are directly across from a public housing development. And a lot of these kids and parents just haven't been exposed or had the opportunity or the resources to go to the opera or the symphony. And somebody, somebody could get really excited and just say, you know, mom, I wanna learn to play the violin or I wanna learn to sing and I know I can sing at church, but I wanna sing opera. And if it's not given the opportunity to be exposed, then it may not even know what's possible. - Having this opportunity and exposure allows individuals to see and hear opera very differently. It is not the traditional opera that we might know and experience in TV or possibly in music. You will find a more lively beat. You will find an intriguing musical combination. And people will hopefully move and enjoy it and feel the sense of joy that it brings. (audience applauds) - I think one of the things that's challenging about the theater is that we have to conjure so many images for ourselves as actors. We're looking out into a blank space and trying to envision the beautiful countryside. Here we are, we're actually in it. I can look out there and I can see the trees that I'm singing about. I can see the people, I can see the audience that I'm singing to. We don't get that very much in the theater with a light in our eyes. So that's really special. - What we do is tell stories through music and through spectacle and we can do that in a theater and outside of a theater and outside of a theater. We're wrapped around with the surrounding of our community playing basketball, having fun, eating dinner, having a great time, enjoying opera. (upbeat music) - This week for our Biena News Breakdown, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has unveiled a $40 million grant program to boost affordable housing. This funding, sourced from various city funds, will support rental, cooperative, and homeownership projects. With $4 million specifically for supportive housing for the homeless and elderly residents. Priority will be given to projects on city-owned land, those serving diverse income levels, and developments in underserved neighborhoods. Mayor Wu emphasized the importance of this funding to preserve Boston's diversity and prevent displacement. Applications are due by September 20th with a virtual conference for developers on August 26th. (upbeat music) - Since 2010, the African Festival of Boston has enriched the culture of the city, bringing people together to celebrate diversity, music, art, and community. BNN was joined by Mary L. Tushaminia, creator of AFOB, and Niyu Raza, singer, songwriter, and performer at this year's festival. We discuss what audiences can expect and why the African Festival of Boston is so important to our communities. Enjoy the interview. Can you tell me a little bit about the African Festival of Boston and what attendees can expect? - Thank you. Well, 14 years ago, we had this bright idea of celebrating, you know, the 50th anniversary of a lot of, you know, African countries going through independence, celebrating the 50th. So we thought that, hey, since the community, the African community is so disconnected with the city and all, we're like, what can, you know, how can we do to bring everybody together? And what we do in our culture, it's usually festival, traditional, you know, celebrating our culture, our differences in diversity. And something that was coming up a lot was people were still questioning if Africa was a continent or Africa was a country. And if it's a continent, our many countries was in Africa. So that's basically what we wanted to showcase that Africa is a continent with, then was 53 countries, now 54 countries. And it's quite diverse and that beauty, that diversity, we brought it here in Boston. Each of us has different stories, but our story, we chose to say it through the culture that we celebrate every year. - Amazing, what an amazing event to continue to do. - Yes. - Over 10 years, almost 15 years. - Yes. - Neil, you're gonna be performing this weekend. And can you tell me about your performance? - Yeah, so I am a singer-songwriter originally from Madagascar. And I have been performing in Boston over the past 10 years. And actually, one of the very first few events that I performed at when I was in college was the African Festival of Boston, which felt right at home. It was a platform for me to perform music that is a fusion. My music is a fusion of traditional Malagasy music, but also fused with a lot of American sound. Since I live now in Boston, and also go back and forth from here in Madagascar, and my family is still in Madagascar. So you're gonna hear a lot of sounds from Madagascar that is infused with a lot of African and American sound as well. But I also grew up in different parts of Africa, like the DRC, or Uganda, or Kenya, or South Africa. So I've fused all that in my music, and I hope that I can take everybody on their journey on Saturday. - Yeah, amazing. And will you give us a little sample of what you mean? - Yeah, so there is a song that I'm gonna be performing called Madagascar. And it goes a little bit like this. ♪ I like the way you make my hobby ♪ ♪ Sounds like the gem is on my hometown ♪ ♪ I like the way you understand me ♪ ♪ Like you speak in the language of my hometown ♪ ♪ You make me shiver ♪ ♪ Like debris from the ocean ♪ ♪ Ay, ay, ay, ay ♪ ♪ Oh, feelings get deep ♪ ♪ When the Indian Ocean ♪ ♪ Ay, ay, ay, ay ♪ ♪ Oh, baby, baby ♪ ♪ You make me feel like home ♪ ♪ 'Cause you remind me of Madagascar ♪ - I love it. - That was beautiful. - Thank you so much for blessing us with that. Wow, I'm really excited for this, right? - Yeah, I'm very excited too. (all laughing) - Everybody is excited, yes. So you were talking before about bringing the African culture, all the different African cultures to Boston. Why is Boston such a great place for, you know, showing this vehicle into the many cultures of the African diaspora? - Yes, definitely, thank you so much. You know, I personally came here as an international student, so I learned English here, and a lot of us, you know, some came in as an international student, and, you know, with diverse story. So the beauty of it is we chose Boston for education, and Boston became home, became a shelter for those who did not have a shelter back home, and became kind of, you know, where they found their safetyness. So for us, you know, the African festival, Boston, means more kind of, it's a home away from home. So Boston brought that as, you know, connected all of us, all of us from Africa from life, you know, different countries in one place. It used to be one day now, it's two days. So we have kind of, you know, there's still that strong connection with Boston. It's home to me. I have children here, and it's home to so many people. And that version that Naio was trying to explain, I think that's what we're trying to portray. But more importantly, as now we're starting really trying to make a strong statement that, hey, we're here, Boston is home, you know, we need to be inclusive. Let's all come together, you know, the Black and Brown community, African immigrant refugees, all of us that are here in Boston. Let's, you know, let's come together and celebrate our culture. So it's open to everyone. That's why it's an event that is open and free to all, for everyone to bring, you know, the different beauty that, you know, some their forefathers, their grandfathers, their mothers, their parents brought into Boston, yes. So it's all about that fusion that Naio was talking about earlier. - Amazing, well, what a beautiful message. Lastly, what makes Afob such a precious, a special event for the Black community of Boston. - I love that, I love the way you say that Afob, right, never even part of that. - Right, I was also thinking Boston AF. - No, I love Afob. - I love Afob. - No, it means a lot, you know, it means a lot. And especially now, like we talk about COVID, you know, after COVID, a lot of people came together, you know, some of the communities and you're seeing that, you know, access to services, access to equity, access to, you know, diversity and inclusion, which we've been thriving for so long. And I think that, you know, having the leadership that we have and we all have to comment the amazing work that Naio is doing, because, you know, the fact that to really showcasing that immigrant story matters, immigrant culture matters, it's also quite, you know, such a high note for the Black and Brown community here. And, you know, there's been, all throughout summer, we've been attending diverse event to showing you that, hey, people are looking for something, we want to make a statement in a positive way and we're using culture, we're using our voice, visual performance anywhere we can make that, you know, to advocate for our right, you know, we're here. And this is home and I think that really means a lot. It means a lot for all of us together. - Absolutely. And where can our viewers find out more information, dates, performers, all that stuff? - Definitely, you'll get to see amazing performers, artists, Boston-based, you know, with all, you know, bringing the diversity of the continent on August 17, Naio will be the closing act, so no one should be, you know, missing that closing act on myself. I'm so excited looking forward to it. So the festival this year again for the second time around will be two days, August 17 and August 18. And it's all throughout the days, you know, it started 10 a.m. to 7 a.m., at 7 p.m., sorry, but one addition that we brought last year was the Children's Cultural Village and it's a high note because we all grew up reading, learning about our stories and some of the local authors, they were able to, you know, kind of translate that into storytelling, you know, for the children and the brother to the community. So that's why we want the children and the youth to also come meet the author, take time to read some of the stories, the BU Africana study will also be there, will have a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony that people should be looking forward to, have a great time and discover our culture, our heritage that we bring here in Boston. - As we approach the end of the summer, B&N News wants to remind all of our viewers to register to vote for the upcoming presidential election. You can register to vote or check for your registered at www.vote.gov. Thank you for tuning in Boston. As a reminder, you can stream or watch the news on demand@bnnmedia.org. Each episode will be re-broadcast at 9.30 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Xfinity Channel 9, Astound Journal 15 and Fios Channel 2161. And make sure to check out our B&N HD Xfinity Channel 1072. You can also hear us on the Radio Fridays at 7.30 in 9 p.m. and Monday to Thursday at 9 p.m. And now you can watch B&N News on the go with the cable cut back. For B&N News, I'm Natalie Kimlin. I'll see you soon. (upbeat music)