Close to 30 people, surrounded by good food and good vibes, crammed into Yummies Restaurant on Dixwell Avenue this past Saturday evening to enjoy an open-mic coffeehouse sponsored by the Winchester Revitilization Art Project, or WRAP. A live band backed audience members as they either sang, performed spoken word, or both. Classically-trained opera singer and city schools’ music teacher Dana Fripp performed a tribute to Etta James, her classic “At Last.”
Click on the play arrow to watch highlights.
The evening’s emcee, Leviticus (aka Cody Norris), kept audience members, who ranged from age 7 through older adults, engaged and entertained. They knew his material, requesting his spoken-word piece, “Man With Iron First.”
“No, do it at the end” a band member said. Leviticus complied. Instead of the spoken-word piece, he talked about his bout with homelessness this past summer, how he walked from Columbus House on Ella Grasso Boulevard through the Hill every morning at 6 a.m. “I did it just to, just to get with these brothers, and play my music … You know, the Hill looks like a whole different place at that hour,” he remarked with a laugh. He did several different pieces during the evening, including one about his relationship with his son..
The audience was plied with coffee, finger food and delicious cake. (Point of disclosure: This reporter usually doesn’t eat on the job, but she had some of the lemon poundcake and can say it’s absolutely-better-than-good.) Yummies has been around for about a year. WRAP coordinator Gerald Moore said he walked into the restaurant to drop off fliers about the program and struck up a conversation with owner Virginia Cordero. He decided it would be a good place to hold the first coffeehouse of the new year.
The event ended with everyone doing the “Electric Slide” line dance.
Moore said WRAP conducts after-school programs in art, painting, sculpture, theater, spoken word, chess, academic support, three-dimensional design and media technology. It has also been working with young people in the “Your Place” program sponsored by St. Andrew’s Church.
The coffeehouses are usually held at Science Park on the last Saturday of the month..
