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Posts Tagged ‘Wilmington Delaware’

Good Day Philadelphia Drives To Wilmington

Good Day Philadelphia Drives to Wilmington

Last Friday, the morning crew of Good Day Philadelphia were in Wilmington as part of the Good Day Drives You Mazda Campaign. The event was held at the H.B. Dupont Plaza on 11th and Delaware Avenues and it was a steamy 81 degrees by 8:00 a.m.

Fox 29 rides into Wilmington

Before heading out I turned to Fox29 Philadelphia to watch a few of the early morning interviews including one with Mayor Dennis Williams and his reaction to the Dallas shootings at the #BlackLivesMatter peaceful protest.

Although it was a hot and humid morning, the smiles and positive vibes kept us all cool, at least until noon at which time I had to head out for work. I was there in support of The Women’s Business Center which was just one of the local businesses being featured on live TV.

Women in Business in Wilmington

Jessica Gibson, Program Director of The Women’s Business Center at First State Community Loan Fund was interviewed along with two of their small business success stories, Lolah Soul Jewelry and Evangelina’s Vegan Desserts.

I’ve been working with The Women’s Business Center for several months now and have received wonderful assistance, guidance and excellent business counseling as ABlake Enterprises has gotten off the ground.

The Women's Business Center

I along with several other women business owners have forged a bond of strong support and sisterhood so it was only natural for us to come together in support of Jessica and have a few minutes of fame on live TV.

met sue Serio from Fox 29 Philly

as seen on Fox29

There were several other businesses along the perimeter of the park and a few of those who were also being featured included The Brunch Box and Kapow Food Trucks, The Delaware 87ers, Drop Squad Kitchen, Bright Spot Urban Garden and most appropriately My Cooling Store.com.

Fox 29 Philly in Wilmington

Please click on the following link to see each of the individual videos then check my Instagram page for more pics and a Flipgram video.

Fox 29 Philly in Wilmington Fox 29 Philly in Wilmington Fox 29 Philly in Wilmington

 

It was definitely a fun filled day of camaraderie and happiness if only for a few hours on what could have been a dismal start to a depressing weekend given the recent violence around the world.

Fox 29 Philly was in Wilmington Dunkin Donuts gave away samples Fox 29 in Wilmington Fox 29 in Wilmington Fox 29 was in Wilmington Fox 29 in Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington Blue Rocks Mascot Fox 29 Philly vendors in Wilmington vendors in Wilmington cooling off with Rita's Water Ice WBC in Wilmington

Fox 29 Philly in Wilmington

 

Stay safe and stay blessed my friends.

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Millennials in Motion

 

Millennials in Motion 

 

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending an Impromptu Art Show at Cherné Altovise Studio. I was invited by my “adopted son” Terrance Vann who you may recall was the moderator of the “Out of the Box” Panel for National Entrepreneur Week.

Terrance and I

As a mother of two sons, I am very supportive of the millennial generation because with all the bad news being printed about them, more good news should be shared about them.  

Whenever I find good news about what’s happening in the state of Delaware, I’ll use my blog as a platform in which to share it with others.

Seeing these millennial artists in motion was awesome but what made it even better was the fact that the owner of the studio is also a millennial! #doingbigthings

Impromtu Art Show

In 2000, at the age of ten, designer Cherné Altovise started designing, making and selling jewelry to family and friends.  By 2008, her word of mouth business took off, first by starting collections which were debuted through runway shows. These shows expanded her customer lists to over a hundred. Now, Cherné Altovise Jewelry has become a brand sold online, in-house boutiques, and in her own store.

Cherné Altovise is a brand that strives to bring fashion, creativity, and functionality to the everyday fashion icon at an affordable price.

Art Loop in Wilmington

 

Impromptu Art Show

For the March art loop Cherné Altovise paired up with Terrance Vann and Alim Smith, also known as the color brothers, alongside of Isabel Jean-Louis to paint on the spot around the centralized theme of of their interpretation of “black magic”.

artist from Delaware artist in Wilmington

artist in Wilmington

She also featured artist, Melondy whose art was also themed around this topic. The idea behind the show was to do something more than the usual display meet and greet or live painting.

They in turn incorporated everything around the chosen theme from the music to the displays to create a unified atmosphere and it was an awesome show.  

Wilmington Delaware

Arriving early at the studio which is located at 316 North Market Street there were already several people mixing and interacting with the artists.

studio in Wilmington

attendees at Impromtu Art Show in Wilmington

I didn’t stay as long as I would have liked, after all, I am the “over 50 crowd” however, I did stay long enough to take the following pictures and have Terrance sign a copy of the Out and About Magazine which features his work on the cover.

Out and About Magazine Terrance is featured on the Out and About Magazine Out and About Magazine featuring Terrance Vann

Head over to my YouTube Channel to actually see these millennials in motion!

Cherne Altovise Studio Impromtu Art Show in Wilmington Terrance and Keyanna at Impromtu Art Show Impromtu Art Show

art work on display at the studio early attendees at the art show Terrance Vann

artist Terrance Vann

millennial in motion

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Black History Delaware > William Judy Johnson

Reposted from http://www.aaregistry.org/

 

William "Judy" Johnson

William “Judy” Johnson

William Julius (“Judy”) Johnson was born in 1899. He was an African American Negro League baseball player.

Born in Snow Hill, MD. Judy Johnson was the son of William Henry and Annie Lee Johnson. His father was a sailor, a licensed boxing coach, and the athletic director of the Negro Settlement House in Wilmington. William Johnson wanted Judy to be a boxer, and Judy learned to box from his older sister, Emma, but Johnson, who was 5′ 11″ (1.80 m) and 150 lb (68 kg), was far better suited for a career in baseball.

After working as a dock worker during World War I, Johnson began his baseball career in 1918, reaching the top-level Negro Leagues in 1921 with Hilldale, a team for which he played through 1929. In 1918, for five bucks a game, his semi-pro career began with the Bacharach Giants.

The following year he tried out for the Philadelphia Hilldales, the premier team in the area. He failed to make the cut and joined the local Chester Stars to develop his skills. In 1921, he signed with the Madison Stars before finally making his professional debut with Hilldale of the Negro Leagues in 1922.

In 1930 Johnson was a player-coach for the Homestead Grays, and in that capacity he discovered Josh Gibson. From 1935 through his last season in 1938, Johnson was the captain of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, one of the greatest franchises of all time. Although his playing days preceded the break of the color barrier by nine years, Johnson became the first Black assistant coach for a major league team in 1954.

Judy Johnson Statue He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975. Johnson Field at Wilmington’s Frawley Stadium is named for him. Johnson is known as Delaware’s folk hero of the diamond. Judy Johnson died on June 15, 1989, in Wilmington.

“Johnson was the best hitter among the four top third basemen in the Negro Leagues, but no-one would drive in as many clutch runs as he would. He was a solid ballplayer, real smart, but he was not the kind of fellow who could ‘just get it done.’ He was dependable, quiet, not flashy at all, but could handle anything that came up. No matter how much the pressure, no matter how important the play or the throw or the hit, Judy could do it when it counted. “

Cool Papa Bell

 


Rysheema Dixon Wilmington City Council Member At-Large Kickoff Celebration

Rysheema Dixon Kickoff Celebration

Rysheema Dixon, Wilmington City Council Member At-Large candidate, hosted her first campaign fundraiser on Friday, February 5th, 2016, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM.  The campaign fundraiser was held at the Chris White Gallery located at 701 North Shipley Street in Wilmington, Delaware. 

The fundraiser was a free event open to the public, but a suggested donation was requested.  If you would like more information on making a donation please contact Porsha Hargrove, (973) 842-5864. 

Rysheema and Porsha

I was invited to attend this political fundraiser and be part of the media coverage by Porsha Hargrove PR and Consulting.  It was a highly energized and fun filled evening attended by many of Rysheema’s constituents as well as several movers and shakers from in and around the Wilmington community.

Delaware Blogger covering fundraiser

 

“Strong from the Ground Up” Candidate, Rysheema Dixon is running for Wilmington City Council Member At-Large.  As an At-Large member of city council, Dixon hopes to continue her dedication to serving Wilmington residents by empowering them through her community development and entrepreneurship platform. 

You can see her complete speech on my YouTube Channel – click here.

Hosting the fundraiser at the Chris White Gallery was a perfect venue because on this crisp winter evening many people came in and out, mixing and mingling and reminding me a bit of being in SOHO, New York City.  

An eclectic mix of music provided by a DJ; lively conversations and laughter; finger foods and drinks was enhanced even more so by the various art pieces hanging on the walls, including this one of Audrey Hepburn in the ladies room.

A. Hepburn

 

As you can see from the following photos and Flipagram, everyone had a great evening in downtown Wilmington in the Shipley Lofts on the 1st Friday of February in support of Rysheema Dixon!

Wilmington Delaware

Rysheema Dixon fundraiser refreshments at Rysheema Dixon fundraiser attendees at Rysheema Dixon fundraiser music and more at Rysheema Dixon fundraiser

Porsha Hargrove RD4 RD5 Lieutenant Governor Kathy McGuiness Lieutenant Governor Kathy McGuiness RD6

Media at Rysheema's fundraiser 2 at the Rysheeda Dixon fundraiser

For more information on Rysheema Dixon, please connect with the campaign via their website: www.rysheemadixon.com, you can also LIKE her on Facebook at Dixon for City Council At-large and be sure to follow on Twitter @rysheemadixon to keep up on other campaign events.

Rysheema Dixon fundraiser

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Meet Elaine S. Brown, Literary Author

Elaine S. Brown is a respected and enriching literary author. She has been requested by several book clubs and organizations to perform excerpts from her books with actors performing scenes from her novel and has done book signings at different book stores.

Elaine S Brown picture

Elaine “Cissy” Brown grew up on the east side of Wilmington, Delaware, during a time of national integration and peaceful demonstrations. She is an original Wilmington native and graduated from Howard High School in the late fifties. This is where she began to cultivate her artistic passion for the theater, singing, and writing. As a teenager in the fifties, she wrote songs and performed with a local musical group and the only female singing do-wop group called the Marquettes. They recorded a demo in Philly, but declined an offer to go to Oakland California to expand on their musical career and became a local celebrity.

Deciding not to go to Delaware State College, Elaine moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey to pursue her singing career. She performed with local jazz musicians. Elaine also became a commercial photographer and was very successful capturing cameo shots of great musician such as Cannonball Adderly, James Moody, Archie Shepp, Cecil McBee and Alice Coltrane, to name a few.

When her only child was born, she put her singing career on hold and concentrated on writing poetry and novels in earnest… Secret Songs of Sara, her first attempt, is still available in print and online. Who Took the G Out of Glademore, is the writers’ second published work of fiction, and Love, Sex and Lies in the Hi-Rise, and is her current novel.

Mixing music, theater, poetry, and a resurgent interest in ‘African-American history’ has garnered Ms. Brown a keen insight into a bygone era reminiscent of simpler times. Ms. Brown has captured an eclectic repertoire of experiences that transcend into her characters and a literary genius that can be felt in her novels. She is prepared to continue sharing her wealth of experiences with future generations.

Elaine said “writing her books was a literary journal and her followers were there with her as she continues to create with her forthcoming books.” 

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
Love Sex & Lies in the Hi-Rise

 “The warning on the pamphlet states, “If you experience an erection for more than four hours, contact your doctor.” Many old men have died with smiles on their faces.

Love, Sex, Lies in the High-Rise is a gusty, explicit, sexual story of seniors and the lifestyles they carried over to their late sixties, seventies, and some eighties. Most of the seniors in Franklin Mews chose not to sit back and live a life of self pity and loneliness but to embrace the opportunity to have another chance at love, lust, eroticism, and passion in their final years.

In Franklin Mews, a senior high-rise apartment building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, two tenants—Duke Wilson, seventy-eight, who has an extensive collection of jazz vinyls from Satchmo to Brownie, and Cebee Walker, seventy-three—find romance and love after some forty-odd years.

“Kill it, kill it, kill it, Duke,” Cebee cried, making reference to his strokes as he thrust harder and harder, bringing her to an exhausting climax.

In the community room, some of Duke’s friends and other men sit and fabricate stories of days gone by. They were pimps, preachers, and alcoholics. Some never change; one of his friends still lives the thug life, and the other has an obsession for porno movies and freaky sex.

We find a bit of amusement when Cebee’s best friend, Sug, asks her for the second time to accompany her to the emergency room at the hospital for them to remove the vibrator that got stuck in her vagina.

There are many stories in Franklin Mews about the tenants that would shock you. Maybe not. But Love, Sex, Lies in the High-Rise adds a new meaning to “growing old gracefully.

Baby boomers, now the real spice of life begins. No inhibitions, no rules, no guilt, just a whirlwind of erotic pleasure waiting for you.”

 

MEDIA INQUIRIES: AVERY GROUP PR DEMIA AVERY 302.450.4590 / 302.442.5587

Read more about Elaine on her Website and Like her on Facebook


MLK Day of Service

Hello Friends and Happy Monday

Today most of you are off from work in honor of MLK Day of Service.  If you are looking for volunteer opportunities in your area please check the All For Good website, and in Delaware click (here).  In addition to the many volunteer opportunities there are also local family events for you and the kids, so I hope you have a chance to attend one.

Oh me…I’m at work! MLKDAYOFSERVICE

Events in and around Wilmington:

MON, JANUARY 20, 8:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.

MLK Day Camp
Brandywine Zoo, 1001 North Park Drive, Wilmington, DE 19802
Our world is richer because of biodiversity! Come and learn why every living thing has a special place and purpose on our earth. Through fun activities, stories and crafts you’ll discover how to be a better animal ambassador! Campers must be potty trained and come dressed for the weather. Campers must bring a bag lunch and water bottle; light snack is provided. Morning drop off from 8-8:30 A.M.. Aftercare available until 5:30 P.M.
Fee: $55 per participant; $45 Delaware Zoological Society Members. Aftercare fee: $10 per person. Pre-registration required. Deadline for registration is January 15th.
To register, please call (302) 571-7788 ext. 200 or emailDNREC_Parks_ZooPrograms@state.de.us

MON, JANUARY 20, 9:30 A.M. – 4:30 P.M.

African-American Champions of Nature
Delaware Museum of Natural History, 4840 Kennett Pike (Rt. 52), Wilmington, DE 19807
Celebrate the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Museum! We’ll have games, crafts, and activities that will leave you filled with compassion for your fellow man and beast.
For more information call (302) 658-9111

MON, JANUARY 20, 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.

Celebrate MLK, Jr. Day with YWCA Delaware!
Trinity Episcopal Parish, 1108 North Adams Street, Wilmington, DE 19801
Please join us for a special racial justice event in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Keynote Speaker: Rev. Dr. Lawrence Livingston, Pastor at Mother African Union Church.  For more details, contact Faye Bonneau, Director of Racial Justice, at (302) 224-4060 ext. 218 orfbonneau@ywcade.org

MON, JANUARY 20, 1:00 – 3:30 P.M.

March for Peace and Community Celebration
1:00 – 2:00 March: St. Paul Catholic Church, Corner of West 4th and Van Buren Streets
2:00 – 3:30 Community Celebration: Be Ready Jesus is Coming Church, 1411 West 4th Street
Walk for peace in our community. The celebration following the march will have food, children’s activities, and arts, music and dance performances.
Questions? Contact Vanity at (302) 602-6560
Co-sponsored by West Side Grows Together and Wilmington Peacekeepers

Here are a few events in our area as posted on DelawareOnline

BREAKFAST IN WILMINGTON

The Organization of Minority Women Inc. hosts the 27th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, 8 a.m. Monday at Chase Center on the Riverfront, 800 South Madison St., Wilmington. For tickets, $35, call Mary Plant at 764-4323.

BREAKFAST IN DOVER

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity has its 28th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast, Monday at Dover Modern Maturity Center, 1121 Forrest Ave. Doors open 7 a.m., an 8:45 a.m. program features Pastor Ellis B. Louden of Mount Zion AME Church, Dover. Admission is a $15 donation at the door.

BREAKFAST IN BRIDGEVILLE

The Western Sussex 2011 Day of Celebration prayer breakfast is 8 a.m. Monday at Heritage Shores Country Club, Bridgeville. Its theme is “TEAM-Work makes the DREAM-Work,” with the Rev. John G. Moore Sr. speaking, music by saxophonist Tony Smith and a Community Recognition Award to Derek and Monica Sheets of Seaford. For advance-only tickets, $20, call 628-1908.

PARTY, AWARDS MONDAY

The 21st Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Children’s Birthday Party is at noon Monday at Bancroft Academy, Eighth and Lombard streets, Wilmington. The event, with birthday cake, is free. Guests are asked to donate canned food for the needy. Winners of an MLK poster/essay contest will be announced and must attend to get awards, sponsored by the Afro-American Historical Society of Delaware and National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa. For information, call Harmon R. Carey, 562-4718.

ALUMNI EVENT MONDAY

Delaware Academy of Science has a reception Monday for alumni of Iron Hill School 112-C, built in the 1920s for black children, now home to Iron Hill Museum. Alumni will get a preview of renovation plans. The reception is 2-4 p.m. in Building 15, Delaware Technology Park, 15 Innovation Way, Newark. To attend, alumni should call Rebecca L. Klug at 738-7532.

NATURE PROGRAM MONDAY

Delaware Museum of Natural History, 4840 Kennett Pike, Greenville, has “African-American Champions of Nature” 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday. Crafts, activities and displays honor scientist George Washington Carver, entomologist Charles Henry Turner, marine biologist Ernest Everett Just and ornithologist Robert A. Gilbert. Adults, $7, $5 for ages 3-17, $6 ages 60 plus, members and kids under 3, free. For information, call 658-9111.

CAN DRIVE STARTS MONDAY

The RSVP Advisory Council of Sussex County starts a food drive Monday that lasts into March. Food goes to Sussex County state service centers to fill crisis food requests. Drop sites are Hocker’s in Clarksville, Giant Foods in Millville, Long Neck and Rehoboth Beach, and Food Lions in Millville and Long Neck.

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