Riis at Ravenswood: Community, Culture and Celebration

One purpose of “One Love/One Heart,” the multicultural celebration held at the Ravenswood Cornerstone Community Center on February 27th, was to give participants an opportunity to share their individual cultural backgrounds while learning about others around the world and in the neighborhood. Perhaps just as importantly, it provided Riis Settlement and the Ravenswood Community a chance to get to know one another better. The event highlighted the talents of program participants and staff through singing, dancing, music and poetry.  There were two choral pieces, "No One" by Alicia Keyes and "Seasons of Love" from the Broadway play, Rent, as well as dance pieces set to “La Conga” by Gloria Estefan and Janet Jackson's "Runaway". Through a Bengali dance by Riis youth from P.S. 166 and a martial arts demonstration by I.S. 126 youth, community members were exposed to the many talents of Western Queens’ growing Asian-American community.

These collaborative efforts were a giant step in building a true sense of community.  The festival also showcased foods from around the world in the form of a delicious hors’ d’oeuvres buffet. Oshea Moye, Program Coordinator for the Ravenswood Cornerstone Center, was proud and excited by how well the day went, reporting “This event was a great preview of what's to come at Ravenswood and I hope people are ready for our youth to take the world by storm!”