Greenbush Day celebration set for March 25
Last March, more than 300 people turned out for a first-time event honoring one of Madison’s most culturally diverse and historic neighborhoods. The second Greenbush Day celebration will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25, at the Welcome Center, 21 N. Park St., at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Current and former residents are invited to attend, as are members of the UW–Madison community and the general public. Parking will be available on the second level of Lot 29, and there is a Metro Transit bus stop in front of the Welcome Center.
The center is located on the northern edge of the old neighborhood, where many Italian and Sicilian immigrants, Jews and African Americans resided until the early 1960s, when they were displaced to make way for the Triangle urban renewal project.
Today "the Bush" is home to many Hmong and other recent immigrants, elderly citizens and persons with disabilities.
"The university recognizes the importance of Greenbush as a neighbor and a portal to the campus," says Lori Kay, the university’s director of community partnerships. "We share a history and a role in the development of Madison, and we look forward to building for the future together."
This year’s celebration will emphasize the theme of "What Makes A Community?" Several volunteers who have enriched the quality of life in the neighborhood will be honored with Community Builder awards.
Among them will be Mai Kou Yang, a fourth-year student at UW–Madison and a first-year student in the School of Nursing. Yang, who is from Sheboygan, has been a volunteer in the Bayview after-school program and its reading and homework clubs for more than two years.
"Mai has been a great asset to Bayview and serves as a role model for our Hmong participants. We very much appreciate her ongoing efforts," says Paul Ly, program coordinator at the Bayview International Center for Education and Arts.
Also among the honorees will be George Fabian, owner of the Park Street Shoe Repair Shop, a popular gathering place frequented by current and former Greenbush residents and customers. The shop has been on Park Street since 1938.
There will be music and dance performances by Blackstar Reggae founder Prince Mantee, the Italian Folk Dancers of Madison and Viv Ncaus, a group of elementary school girls who perform traditional Hmong dances in traditional Hmong clothing.
The program also will include storytelling about life in Greenbush, along with several exhibits and light refreshments.
"This annual celebration is all about the past, present and future of neighborhood and the power of continuity in the community," says Ruth Olson, associate director of the university’s Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures and one of the event’s organizers.
Among the co-sponsors of Greenbush Day are the university’s Office of Transportation Services, the Welcome Center and the chancellor’s office.
