Eastside Celebration and Open House at the Eastside Gateway draws a crowd

The sun came out and so did at least 200 people who turned out for Kalamazoo's Eastside Celebration and Open House and found a birthday celebration, too. 

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General
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June 6, 2019
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Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Balloons and signs welcomed visitors to the celebration of the Eastside Gatewau opem house/
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Visitors toured the 1,000 square foot small home, one of four current houses built at the Eastside Gateway. Three more are planned.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – The Eastside Gateway features a public pocket park and labyrinth, flowers planted courtesy of Kalamazoo in Bloom by Eastside resident and Garden Educator CJ Drenth and volunteers.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Kelly Clarke, Executive Director of the Kalamazoo Land Bank, spoke to visitors about the Eastside Gateway project.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Food was catered by Lolita’s Tacos, a restaurant featured in On the Ground Eastide’s coverage.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Youth from the Eastside Voices were on hand to answer questions and explain the project, which includes filming oral histories of Eastside residents to be commemorated on an Eastside mural and in the Eastside Gateway Pocket Park labyrinth.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – The focus of an On the Ground Feature, Gwen Tulk, a retired librarian and Eastside resident, was celebrated with a song and cake.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Gwen Tulk (center) attended the Eastside Open House and Celebration and was honored with a cake and song for turning 102.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Gwen Tulk attended the Eastside Open House and Celebration and was honored with a cake and song for turning 102.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Mayor Bobby Hopewell and Buddy Hannah at the Eastside Gateway open house.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – CJ Drenth, Garden Educator for Kalamazoo in Bloom, and Eastside resident, designed and supervised the plantings of the Eastside Gateway Pocket Park.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Michael Seals, president of the Kalamazoo Eastside Neighborhood Association and Kalamazoo County Commissioner, spoke at the Eastside Celebration and Open House.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – On the Ground displayed eight of its 30 stories published during the five months of Eastside coverage.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Visitors listened to brief speeches by Michael Seals, Kelly Clarke and Kathy Jennings about the Eastside neighborhood, the Eastside Gateway and the On the Ground Eastside coverage.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – Kathy Jennings, On the Ground Eastside Managing Editor, spoke about neighborhood stories and introduced resident Gwen Tulk, who was celebrated for turning 102 in April.
Eric Hennig, VAGUE photography – The Eastside Celebration and Open House was featured on Channel 3 WWMT.

On May 29, more than 200 people attended the Eastside Celebration and Open House at the Eastside Gateway, 1502 East Michigan Ave., to celebrate the new small housing project and pocket park and to culminate On the Ground’s five months of Eastside coverage.

Michael Seals, Kalamazoo County Commissioner and president of the Kalamazoo Eastside Neighborhood Association, Kelly Clarke, Executive Director of the Kalamazoo Land Bank, and Kathy Jennings, Managing Editor of On the Ground, all spoke. The special guest of honor attendance was Gwen Tulk, a retired librarian at Northeastern Junior High School (now Northeastern Elementary), who was celebrated for turning 102 in April. On the Ground Eastside stories were displayed on posters, and visitors toured one of the small homes.

The event was co-sponsored by the Kalamazoo County Land Bank, Vibrant Kalamazoo, KENA, Eastside Voices, a neighborhood oral history project facilitated by Buddy Hannah and Sid Ellis, and On the Ground Eastside.

Author
Theresa Coty O'Neil

Theresa Coty O’Neil is the Managing Editor of Southwest Michigan Second Wave. As a longtime freelance writer, editor, and writing teacher, she has a passion for sharing the positive stories in Southwest Michigan and for mentoring young writers. She also serves as the Project Editor of the Faith in Action series and Project Lead for Battle Creek Voices of Youth.

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