Luna’s Groceries will be celebrating their fourth annual Block Party on Saturday, Aug. 26, 1-9 p.m. and Joe Maldonado, co-owner of Luna’s Grocery Store, says that he and his wife, Mariam, are excited to celebrate and give back to the community that has supported the grocery store in Madison’s Allied-Dunn’s Marsh neighborhood for the past four years.
“The block party will have a similar format to previous years. This event is really just a way to give back to the neighborhood which has been very supportive of the store since its opening. It’s a chance to do something for the community and to get out and have fun,” Maldonado tells Madison365.
(Photo supplied.)
There will be a variety of food available including West African cuisine from Les Delices de Awa, smoothies from Brooks’ Balanced Kitchen, brats and burgers from the Madison Police Department, a taco truck from El Viejon de Michoacan, Argentinian empanadas from Mabel Olvera, pupusas Salvadoreñas from Alba, Hmong food from KC Taste Asian Cuisine and Sista’s Chicken and Fish.
There will be games and activities for the kids and performers will include DJ Francis Medrano. Jarius King (a.k.a. DJ GNS), LUCIDNic.777, DJ Fogon, DJ Ree Maniac, DJ Man of God, Nicholas Harper, Grupo Candela, and Grupo Explosion from Milwaukee.
The event will be held in Luna’s parking lot, located at 2010 Red Arrow Trail. The Maldonados opened their grocery store in Madison’s Allied-Dunn’s Marsh neighborhood in 2019, and quickly became an important part of a community and a vital resource for an area that had been a food desert for the previous decade.
“We will have presentations from Fitchburg Mayor Julia Arata-Fratta, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Wisconsin State Senator Melissa Agard, and Madison Alder Yanette Figueroa Cole,” Joe Maldonado says. Luna’s Groceries co-owner Mariam Maldonado will also speak at the event.
Vendors and service providers that will be on hand and providing resources at Luna’s Block Party will include Affordable Dental Care, Allied/Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association, Booker Botanicals, One City Schools, Dr. Dyslexia Dude, Tyanna’s Art, Fitchburg Fire Truck, Warped Wheel Bike Repair, Tales with Big T, puppies and books, Madison Reading Project Book Truck, Fitchburg Senior Center, Madison Metro Bus Representatives, City of Madison – West Neighborhood Plan, Madison College, and Madison Public Library.
Luna’s Block Party is looking for volunteers for the day of the event. More specifically, they are in need of volunteers for setup (10 a.m.-1 p.m.), three-hour shifts during the event (1-4 p.m. and 4-7 p.m.) and a shift toward the event and after (7-10 p.m.) To sign up, click here.
“With the Luna’s Block Party, one of my favorite parts of that event is really just enjoying working with the volunteers,” Maldonado says. “There’s always good people to help out and kind of direct traffic and give back … I really enjoy watching the community chip in to support what we are doing.
“We’re hoping to see a great turnout,” he adds. “The neighborhood always comes out and supports us and we always have a really good time.”
