“Legacies Feed Future Flowers”
The Frogtown Arts Festival returns August 16 with a powerful intergenerational theme: Legacies Feed Future Flowers. Held outside 825 University Ave. in St. Paul, the event will honor changemakers from Frogtown and Rondo, featuring music, food, art, and flowers. Nominate elders and youth leaders for community recognition. Organized by 825 Arts and the Frogtown Neighborhood Association, the festival also celebrates the public opening of a newly renovated arts hub that was saved from demolition in 2009.
The Frogtown Arts Festival is returning this summer with a theme that celebrates generational impact: Legacies Feed Future Flowers. The annual event, scheduled for Aug. 16 from 1 to 8 p.m. outside 825 University Ave., will spotlight artists, changemakers, and community members through a day of music, food, art — and flowers.
This year’s festival will honor residents from the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods who are building legacies through cultural work, activism, and community leadership. Nominations are now open for both elders and young changemakers whose contributions are shaping the community.
“Honoring the legacies of elders who have made contributions to Frogtown and Rondo is a way of connecting generations,” said Tou SaiK Lee, the festival’s elder manager. “It’s specific to changemakers, people working for racial justice, equity, empowerment, and cultural representation. We want to give them their flowers.”
A selection committee will choose five nominees from each category to be honored during the festival’s opening ceremony. In addition to the public recognition, honorees will be featured in a forthcoming set of community trading cards. Runners-up will be acknowledged on a legacy wall celebrating local contributions.
“Giving people their flowers is how we make sure knowledge keeps being passed on,” Lee said. “It creates an intergenerational bridge.”
The event is organized by the Frogtown Neighborhood Association (FNA) and 825 Arts, which will also be celebrating the public opening of its newly renovated arts space. The building at 825 University Ave. was nearly turned into a parking lot in 2009, but was saved through community advocacy led by FNA. This year’s festival marks the culmination of more than a decade of work to transform it into a creative hub for the neighborhood.
To nominate someone for recognition, visit: https://tinyurl.com/FAFFlowers25.
For those interested in joining the festival as an artist, vendor, or volunteer, more information is available at frogtownaf.org or by emailing faf@frogtownaf.org.
You can also follow 825 Arts on Instagram (@825arts) or connect with Frogtown Neighborhood Association and 825 Arts on Facebook to stay updated on summer programming.
825 Arts is a nonprofit committed to building community power by providing a creative home that incubates the arts and amplifies the voices of all people in the neighborhood. For more information, visit www.825arts.org.