Abberly Place Blog

This Saturday there will be an arts-and-music festival to help victims of the Raleigh tornadoes that struck this spring. The ComeUnityNow street festival will be at City Plaza and Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday.

This festival has been created to encouraged  unity.

The festival's theme of unity will be displayed through all aspects of the event. For example, bands will play 15- to 20-minute sets, and then remain on stage to play a bit with the act that follows. The bands are going to jam and improvise with other musicians they've never practiced with before - it's bands working together.

Street artists also will be painting what they see before them at the event - not just bringing works from their studios to sell.

More than 30 local bands, musicians and dancers will perform throughout the day on two stages. Some of the acts include the Mary Selvidge Band, Outside Soul, Monika Jaymes, Bull City Syndicate, BushHawg Band, Colandra McDowell and Bernard Harris.

Oil and watercolor painters and clay sculptors will be crafting their art along the street during the day. At the end of the festival, the pieces will be sold in a silent auction.

A Kids Zone will have inflatable play areas and carnival games. There is also a parade scheduled at noon on Fayetteville Street to honor first responders and disaster relief workers. A misting tent will provide refuge from the heat.

The event is free, but special VIP music tickets will cost $10 for adults and $20 for a family of three or more. Discount cards for merchants will be on sale for $20.

This Saturday, hit the streets and have fun, while helping to support those whose homes, businesses and apartments in Raleigh, NC were damaged this past spring by the tornadoes.