Embracing Joy and Excellence
In the Community: East Side Summer Celebrations
August 6, 2024
This summer, the Oishei Foundation proudly highlights several events that exemplify community, celebration, joy, and Black excellence. These events bring together people of all ages and backgrounds, fostering unity and healing through music, culture, and shared experiences.
Jefferson Ave Friday Night Live is a curated event that began in 2023, a year after the Tops shooting in 2022. Known as a Block Party, this event transforms Jefferson Avenue into a lively space for live music, healing, and celebration, where children, youth, friends, and family gather. Marnetta Malcolm, the founder of the event, describes it as a spiritual experience that brings the community together. Friday Night Live occurs on Jefferson Avenue every Friday until August 23. It culminates with the Buffalo Funk Fest, a vibrant, 20-year cross-generational event that draws national artists and honors Rick James, the iconic musical artist from the East Side of Buffalo.
Celebrating its 29th year, The Pappy Martin Legacy Masten Jazz Festival unites the community and national jazz artists in an outdoor setting at MLK Jr. Park by the Science Museum. This event, named after an internationally renowned musician from Buffalo, fosters unity, healing, and social cohesion. Dawn Walker, the festival’s curator, is a member of Oishei’s Community Conversations for Leaders of Color and puts on an amazing event.
On August 4 and August 11, one of the East Side’s most anticipated events returns to MLK Jr. Park. The Pine Grill Reunion honors the legacy of the Pine Grill, a beloved establishment on the East Side that closed in the early 1970s. Now in its 35th year, this event brings local and national artists together with Buffalonians to celebrate jazz in Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, directly across from the Splash Pad. Leah Daniel, an Oishei Fellow since 2019 and the Executive Director of the African American Cultural Center, which oversees the reunion, has a longstanding history with the Oishei Foundation.
Join us in experiencing the rich tapestry of Buffalo’s vibrant community this summer.