Returning for it’s 5th year, the annual ¡Calabazafest! brought music, dance, food, art, and more to Maria Hernadez Park on Sunday, October 28. The event is a gift to the community from EcoStation:NY’s Bushwick Farmers’ Market, offering a chance for the diverse neighborhood to gather and share their respective traditions. Community groups are encouraged to table in the park and this year’s participants featured Arts in Bushwick, BK Rot, Bushwick Abbey, and El Puente, alongside performances by Still Waters in a Storm, E.L.M., Mariachi Tapatio de Alvaro Paulino, and the Mazarte Dance Company.
Mazarte Dance Company
Kids decorate pumpkins at Arts in Bushwick's table
Educated Lyrical Monsters (E.L.M.) perform
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EcoStation:NY has operated in Bushwick for the five years, addressing issues of sustainability, opening dialogue about the interconnectedness of human and environmental health, and the effects of our current food system upon both. Their projects include Bushwick Campus Farm, Bushwick Farmers' Market, and Farm-in-the-Sky.
Did you know that calabaza is the Spanish word for pumpkin? Originating in Mesoamerica, Pumpkins are part of the Cucurbitaceae family which include a variety of buffalo gourds, chayotes, cucumbers, gourds, melons, pumpkins, and summer and winter squashes. A walk down Knickerbocker will show any New Yorker that Bushwick is bursting with colorful personality, just like the cucurbit family in it's many varieties!
The fourth annual ¡CALABAZAFEST!, organized by Eco Station NY, was a day for the neighborhood to come together and celebrate culture through art, food, and community. The Arts in Bushwick Community Outreach Team, along with volunteers from the Beacon Center for Arts and Leadership, participated by facilitating a wildly successful pumpkin decorating and carving station as well as face painting!
The festival created a great opportunity for people of all ages to bring their various traditions together - to share knowledge, cook, learn, carve, and create together. Under the turning leaves, brother's and sister's debated over the features of their pumpkins - would they have a big toothy grin and wonky eyes or a set of triangle features? Surprisingly, some kids and even adults had never indulged in that gooey, messy activity that is pumpkin carving – rounding out the top, removing the insides, and then through a process of removal, creating an image of your choosing!
Just because shorter days and chilly nights are upon us doesn't mean that all our creative juices will be zapped. Keep an eye out for updates on Art in Bushwick's upcoming one-day community arts workshops taking place around Bushwick! Email [email protected] to find out more or get involved!
