In a celebration of faith, music and community engagement Athens Arts League filled Washington Street, in downtown Athens, on Saturday, Aug. 10, for its ‘Taking it to the Street’ gospel music concert.

“We were all very pleased with the turnout, we had all age groups there which made for a really great night,” Holly Hollman, president of the Athens Arts League board, told The News Courier. “We want to make sure that we’re providing opportunities to enjoy all types of art, and that includes music. So far, we’ve had country, soft rock, 80’s rock and now gospel.”

The free event featured various forms of praise and worship from local artists and pastors including; Dante Pride, John David Crowe, Dwayne Pugh, Cynthia Hines, Kelvin Farrar, Tony and Hannah Nguyen and Jerome Malone’s O.W.A.P.

“Jerome Malone, one of our board members, has had the idea of this event for a while,” Hollman said. “He’s the one who wanted to do an outdoor gospel type concert, and he came up with the idea of ‘Taking it to the Street’ to reach all demographics.”

Outside of the uplifting music that echoed through downtown Athens over the weekend, eventgoers were welcomed to bring their kids for free activities like face painting and coloring. Hollman noted that showing the importance of art to the youth at a young age, will allow them to better express themselves in the future.

“The activities, and the classes we hold at High Cotton Arts, gives the kids the chance to show who they are,” Hollman said. “We try to stress for the kids to be confident in their art, and to have an awareness of their emotions through their creations. I know that those younger ones really enjoyed that part of the night.”

Hollman said her favorite part of Saturday night’s events came from the message delivered by Dante Pride, a Christian rapper, who talked about focusing on others to make your own light shine through.

“It was later in the night, so it was already dark, and he had us all turn our flashlights on on our phones,” Hollman said. “When he made us go to our photos and click on a selfie our light would go out, saying that when we concentrate on ourselves our light goes out. That’s why we need to make sure we concentrate on others. I think that message had an impact on several people there, but I know it definitely made an impact on me.”

Hollman resonated that message to the work of the Athens Arts League, a local nonprofit that focuses on the community and bringing the arts to where they are.

“So many people from different backgrounds and different ages came together to enjoy a night of being uplifted, and that’s what we are all about,” Hollman said. “There is so much negative in the world, and if we are being honest, sometimes we concentrate on the negative. Saturday night was all about being uplifted, being blessed and focusing on the positives of the world.”