A drum circle, Aztec dancers, hula hooping and a community art project are a few things friends and families can participate in and view for free this Saturday.
Turn Up! is a free summer-long event series open to the public and held by Dallas City of Learning. The final event will take place August 9 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Fair Oaks Park located at 4621 Fair Oaks Ave.
"It is a component of the Dallas City of Learning initiative, which Big Thought launched with Mayor Rawlings this summer to help thwart summer slide and close opportunity and achievement gaps," wrote Erin Offord, director of community relations at Big Thought, in an email.
Summer slide, or summer learning loss often incited by low income, accounts for about two-thirds of the ninth grade achievement gap in reading, according to sociological review Lasting Consequences of the Summer Learning Gap.
"Learning doesn't end when school does," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said in May regarding Dallas City of Learning. "And we all kind of know that, but we don't create structures to deal with it on a large-scale basis.
These events give kids hands on experiences in a variety of areas from aviation to opera singing. This conclusive Turn Up! event will focus on cultural diversity.
"As a community represented in more than 27 languages, the creative diversity of talents in Vickery Meadow in vast," said Martha Stowe, executive director of the Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation, in a press release. "We strive to be the canvas where youth can express themselves, and Big Thought's Turn Up! is helping make this possible by coming to our neighborhood."
Dallas joins Columbus, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. in their pilot summer of the City of Learning initiative. The cities based the effort on Chicago's launch of the program in 2013.
Programs within the citywide effor include online challenges, a summer reading program, an internship program, library and cultural center events as well as Turn Up! functions.
"Dallas City of Learning's pilot year was built in collaboration with a vast network of 70 partners offering more than 800 programs," Offord said, " [which] break down accessibility barriers due to technology and transportation and recognize youth for new skills and knowledge gained this summer through digital badges they earn."