Urban Nights, an all-inclusive street party that takes over downtown Dayton, showcasing dining, nightlife, art, music and retail, is offering a “do-it- yourself” tour Friday, Sept. 14, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
One of the attractions of Urban Nights is located at Garden Station, a metropolitan community garden and art park. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., Garden Station will feature a vocal variety show, Dayton Out Loud.
Auditions for the inaugural year of Dayton Out Loud were held Aug. 3 and proved to be promising as the judges accepted a handful of diverse and talented applicants. The performances will include a variety of poetry, a cappella songs, memoirs, rap and beatbox.
One Dayton Out Loud volunteer and coordinator, Ria Megnin, explained the agenda of the show.
“Each person will have up to three minutes to share his or her featured piece. When everyone on the list has performed, we’ll offer up the stage as an open mic,” she said.
Dayton Out Loud allows members of the audience to both watch performers and jump up on stage and participate in the show, according to Megnin.
Megnin said that not only is Dayton Out Loud a display of artistic expression, but it is also a fundraiser with donations benefiting the City Beets program of Five Rivers Metro Parks.
Megnin described the City Beets program as an invitation to youths, ages 12-17, to learn about the modern food chain and become educated leaders about the food choices of today. Participants learn to grow and harvest their own food in community gardens, then sell it through a local farmers market, she said.
Garden Station is a fitting venue for the beneficiary of Dayton Out Loud, City Beets. The unique, urban hub is a place created entirely by volunteers and donations from the community. Garden Station features sustainable living education and demonstrations to help Dayton residents become more self-sufficient, according to Garden Station’s Facebook page.
Urban Nights has much to offer the residents of Dayton and students, including the ability to grow gardens, artistic expression and a bond to the city of Dayton.
“Dayton Out Loud is a great way to start your Urban Nights experience,” she said. “Dayton Out Loud starts early and will be wrapping up by 7 p.m. So come on down, discover the awesomeness that is Garden Station, hear terrific local artists share their powerful ideas and voices, flex your own vocal skills, make some new connections, and then head out to enjoy the music and food and performances that make Dayton great.”
For more information about Urban Nights, Dayton Out Loud and Garden Station can be found on Facebook. Those who are interested in participating in Dayton Out Loud but did not attend auditions can email DaytonOutLoud@gmail.com to be added to the list of performers.
