Baisley Pond Park

The Daily Plant : Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Hallelujah: Sounds Of Gospel Ring Through Southern Queens

Photo by Phil Sparacio

As part of the Parks initiative to increase programming in Southern Queens' parks — Baisley Pond, Brookville, Springfield and Idlewild — on July 14, Parks hosted the Second Annual Southern Queens Gospel Fest.

Baisley Pond Park was blessed with fantastic weather and approximately 1,300 people arrived with blankets and lawn chairs to watch numerous performances under the shade of a canopy of trees. The Urban Park Rangers were also on hand to offer canoe rides and Recreation provided face painting to people of all ages…including the emcee!

The charismatic Dalton Anderson, a radio host for the popular WLIB gospel radio station, emceed the event. The audience was treated to a wide array of delightful gospel sounds. Brother Al Smith of the New Jerusalem Baptist Church kicked off the event, followed by eleven acts such as Echols Temple, St. Albans Baptist Church, GBC Inspiration and others. Spiritual Walkers, two mime dancers, also performed for the enthusiastic crowd.

Council Member Thomas White, Jr. provided refreshments and snacks for all attendees. Other sponsors included Sam Ash Music Stores who donated the sound equipment, Kentucky Fried Chicken who provided food for the performers, and Black Families International.

Gospel music is an extremely popular cultural component of Southern Queens and this event gave the numerous local churches the opportunity to come together and share their talents with each other in the beautiful setting of Baisley Pond Park.

There was so much interest that there is already a list of acts for the 2008 Southern Queens Gospel Fest. The amount of talented singing and dancing that happens behind the closed doors of churches and performance halls in Southern Queens is astonishing and we are pleased that they had the opportunity to exhibit their talents.

Gospel Fest was a fantastic display of teamwork with the collaboration of Queens Borough Commissioner Lewandowski’s staff, Operations, Recreation, Partnerships for Parks and the Special Events office.

The evening brought the community and its choirs together to celebrate the praise and soulful sounds that are gospel music.

Written by Susan Friedman and Norman Chan

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“Measure not the work until the day’s out and the labor done.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning
(1806 – 1861)