KINGSTON, N.Y. — Kingston’s Midtown Make a Difference Day drew a crowd on Franklin Street on Friday, the first time the event has been held since 2020.
In honor of this year’s theme, “Reunited,” the event offered free food, entertainment and live music, as well as vendors from local businesses and organizations sharing information about resources. The host of this year’s event was comedian and community organizer Jessieca McNabb, who co-hosts “We Got Next” on Radio Kingston. Marvin Campbell was the DJ for the festivities.
Erica Brown, Community Engagement Coordinator at Radio Kingston, and Megan Weiss, Director of the NoVo Foundation in Kingston, spearheaded the development of the event. Weiss said Make a Difference Day, which was founded in 2006, has a goal of connecting the Kingston community. “It’s about having the opportunity to see our neighbors, see each other, see ourselves in each other, and to just celebrate all of the beautiful things that are in our community,” Weiss said.
Brown said she was inspired to re-start the event, as it hadn’t happened in four years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Megan and I got together and said, ‘let’s make it happen,'” she said. “We all hopped on a group text and that was it.
” With support from other organizations and the local community, Brown and Weiss said the event has been a success. “The beauty and the importance of this event is that it is right within the neighborhood, people can open their doors and walk outside and just enjoy and participate,” Weiss said. Weiss said just the support from Franklin Street residents has been a marker of making a difference, with several people offering to help set up Friday morning.
“Just seeing that somebody is running to go get ice, another person’s running to get a propane tank, it’s been really beautiful to see everybody, in their small way, and sometimes big ways, how can they make a difference.” Ulster County Legislator Greg McCullough, who attended the event, talked about its importance in the Kingston community. “This is a chance to come out and see the different programs and organizations out here and get information that they wouldn’t otherwise know about,” he said.
“I just want people to have a good time and enjoy life.”.
