Summer Fam Jam Draws Hundreds to Hear Students’ Voices
Anna, a Half Pint Poet from King Elementary School, takes the stage at the RunDSM Summer Fam Jam.
Those first hours after work on Fridays always buzz. Maybe more so in early June as summertime yawns and stretches itself awake. What better time for the good stuff factory that calls itself RunDSM to schedule its first and undoubtedly destined to become annual Summer Fam Jam in the courtyard at the downtown Des Moines Social Club?
On premises that used to be a firehouse a bonfire of “brave new voices” blazed away.
The program was set to open at 6:30 but by 5:30 a good crowd and vibe were already gathered. Inside a gallery of artwork by students from the Central Campus Urban Leadership program was provoking much thought. Outside the mood was more celebratory with balloons and beach balls “getting free” before the poets did.
Food trucks from Midnight Tacos, Ferinheit Pizza, and Cafe Fuzion provided varied and voluptuous food that was free for the energized audience thanks to event sponsor United Way.
When the half pint poets from King Elementary took the stage to open the show the pump was primed. What amounts to a feeder system for the tributary programs that merge under the RunDSM and Movement 515 auspices is already flowing freely. The half pints were mentored during the second semester by many of the young citizen poets who followed them to the stage Friday night and it’s clear there is some serious role-modeling happening. With topics that ranged from Moms and sisters to society and the love of writing – even a poem about Advanced Placement classes – the young wordmasters shared their truth with hundreds of onlookers.
The student activism/empowerment paradigm established by DMPS Urban Arts Coordinators Kristopher Rollins and Emily Lang isn’t just trickling down, it’s gushing, and refreshing.
The out-of-service radio tower that rises in the middle of the courtyard space practically crackled back to life Friday night. Some kind of powerful wave was broadcasting there, loud and clear.
Other elements of the show included breakdancing, street art, and a full-throttle dance party under a spell cast by The WAYV and DJ White Bear.
Another highlight of the event was the announcement of recently graduated Hoover/Central Campus & Academy senior Susan Stacy as the recipient of the inaugural RunDSM Scholarship. (See an example of Susan’s poetry by clicking here.) Susan is a member of the team that will head to Atlanta later this summer to represent DMPS in the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Festival.
And we may all rest assured that they WILL represent!
