This Saturday, Oct. 7, The Neutral Zone will shut down East Washington Street to throw their 25th anniversary street party celebration. The event will run from 4-11 p.m with a special alumni reunion from 3-4 p.m. Created by teens, Neutral has centered youth voices and aspirations since its creation. The space has even served as a jumping off point for many young artists, musicians and activists.
Sana Schaden, Neutral Zone teen intern and CHS senior, has been involved with planning the 25th anniversary event alongside the Neutral Zone.
“We have been working on promoting the event as much as possible.” Schaden said. “We want everybody, especially teens, to be able to get a chance to see past Neutral Zone and present Neutral Zone side by side.”
This weekend’s event will feature performances from both Neutral Zone alumni and teen artists. Gummy Ochoa (GVMMY), teen artist and CHS senior, will go on at 8 p.m. They have performed at Neutral Zone before, but this time will be different.
“It’s going to be a bigger scale performance, so I want to be extra prepared and make sure that my set is tight,” GVMMY said. “I just hope people are having a good time. I enjoy the aspect of a crowd of people coming together and vibing with the music.”
The lineup consists of acts performing a wide range of styles and genres, from jazz-infused indie to experimental hip-hop. The alumni Headliners are hip-hop artist and rapper Jammal Buffard (Buff-1) and friends; and SKA band “We are the Union”.
Amidst the food trucks and bounce house, people will have the opportunity to participate in two interactive art projects. The first is a banner by artist Yen Azzaro, encapsulating the Neutral Zone’s history. The other one is an interactive mural painting by artists and Neutral Zone Alumni Casey Klobucar and Jakob Hahn.
In addition to the art and entertainment, there will be live silk-screening. Neutral Zone will have merchandise available to anyone who wants to participate. Everyone is also encouraged to bring their own clothing to the silk screen.
With so many activities and performances, there will be something for everyone at this anniversary celebration blowout.
![Jessika Whiteside assists her Block 5 Introduction to Literature students with an assignment on Nov. 17. Whiteside has always been someone to give a helping hand, and for freshmen leaping into their second quarter at CHS, this is a life saver. I think they [freshmen] are still adjusting to the workload of highschool, Whiteside said. But for the most part, theyre adjusting and figuring it out.](https://chscommunicator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/mpt1sMarBDNOzlkHrVSqLXUTFNJfuxsHAruLAq8N-1200x800.jpg)
