Bridge Madison Pastor Josh Miller has high expectations for the first annual Aldo Leopold “Peace in the Park” Block Party that will be held this Saturday, Aug. 20 at Leopold Park.
“The idea came from the fact that for many, unfortunately, the south side of Madison has a stigma to it and that is not validated by facts,” Miller tells Madison365. “We wanted to find a way to bring this community together for a great event. If you look at Leopold, if you go west, you end up in an older, more mature, white subdivision. If you go east, you end up in apartments and section 8 housing. If you go south, you get into the McMansions of Fitchburg. Each of those communities really have no relationships with each other. Part of our goal is to bring those communities together … to throw a party and to celebrate together and laugh together and realize that there is probably more that connects us than separates us.”
The block party will have face painting, bouncy houses, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, great food, music, and more.
“There will be many different things going on where families will be able to come together and celebrate and to hang out,” Miller says.
“It’s a place where various stakeholders will come together whether they be non-profits, faith communities, businesses, police, certainly the neighborhood,” Miller adds. “It’s just about bringing everybody together to have that moment where we realize that we are stronger together than we are apart. We are more alike than we are different.”
Last spring, Leopold Elementary School was designated a “community school,” providing coordinated services and supports to students and families in the school’s neighborhood. Community schools integrate services like health care, academic tutoring, mentoring, food access or parent leadership opportunities into school sites.
Miller has made many strong ties in the Leopold Elementary School and the Leopold neighborhood while seeding his new church, The Bridge.
“The Bridge started as a church that wanted to be known more for community service in the community than Sunday service,” Miller says. “Really, everywhere Jesus went, things got better. So we wanted to have that same impact.”
The Bridge, along with Madison365, will be the hosts of the Aldo Leopold “Peace in the Park” Block Party and will have a camera and a microphone in hand while walking around the block party to ask neighborhood residents questions like what they love about their neighborhoods, what they would change and how they would help serve the community.
“We wanted to have an opportunity to really listen to the community,” Miller says. “Schools, governments, non-profits, churches – we’ve all had events with the same 20 good, well-intentioned people who show up at everything. We wanted to find a different way to listen to the community and really get some data. How does the community self-identify? What are the real needs?”
There will be over 20 organizations helping out for the event. “The number of people who have stepped up to be a part of this is overwhelming,” Miller says. “Lots of cool people wanted to be a part of this, so we are excited.”
The event is the first of its kind and the start of many.
“I think one of the coolest things about an event like this is that the energy and the passion is contagious … just by being around it,” Miller says. “If nothing else, come out and grab a burger and relax and have fun. We’re going to have more than enough food.”
The first annual Aldo Leopold “Peace in the Park” Block Party will be held this Saturday, Aug. 20, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Leopold Park, 2906 Traceway in Madison. If it rains, the party will move inside to Leopold Elementary School.
