By On Monday, more than 350 people braved the frigid weather for a celebration. The Kelly Strayhorn Theater on Penn Avenue welcomed the community to the seventh annual “East Liberty Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.”
For most, it was a chance to experience arts and crafts, dance and music with neighbors and friends. Over two hours of performances had a packed house on its feet, while songs such as “Glory” from the movie “Selma,” were performed by Hope Academy. In the tiny theater lobby, children created poems on the “poetry wall” and posed for pictures with quote bubbles that spelled out their dreams for the future.
For Janera Solomon, executive director, the event was especially meaningful because it reflected the theater’s mission to “bring diverse groups of people together.”
Outside the theater, scaffolding and high fencing exemplify a changing East Liberty. Ms. Solomon thinks her theater is helping to maintain a sense of community around the development.
“When you treat people like they belong in the community, they participate and engage and make the community what they want it to be,” she said.
