WORDS Brent Rosen
One of my favorite annual activities in Montgomery is the Cloverdale- Idlewild neighborhood concert series. At 4:00 p.m. each Sunday in April and May, the neighborhood provides live music under the gazebo in Cloverdale Bottom Park (South side of Fairview, on Cloverdale Road). People from all over Montgomery come to the neighborhood, kids and coolers in tow, to enjoy the two months of Spring and Summer that aren’t unbearably hot.
I love the concerts in the park for so many reasons. Since I live in Cloverdale Idlewild, I can walk out my front door and hear the music. I enjoy all the activity in the neighborhood, the kids running around, the parents enjoying a beverage and socializing, the bouncy houses, the dogs, the lawn chairs, the blankets. The concerts also showcase the diversity of my neighborhood. Black, white, brown; military men with crew cuts, long- hairs who work in the service industry; young professionals and the underemployed: everyone shows up at the park. If you look close, you may even get to see a noted federal judge in short pants.
I love the diversity of the music. Some weeks there is a Captain and Tennille style duo, other weeks a big band of octogenarians who play music best enjoyed while wearing a straw boater. Local musicians leave the patio of the Renaissance and get to play under the park’s huge oak trees. There’s even been a steel drum band rocking calypso. You never know what you’ll get, but for two hours, the musicians get into the spirit of the outdoor show and play long and loose for the crowd.
I love that people who don’t live in Cloverdale-Idlewild make it over to the “other” side of Fairview, and can have some preconceived notions challenged. It’s not scary. It’s not crime infested. The diverse people who live in our neighborhood actually get along. People are friendly, interested in meeting strangers. Kids form ad hoc alliances with other kids near the swing sets, then run off to explore the creek or climb trees. It feels how any urban neighborhood should feel, even if that means it doesn’t necessarily feel like Montgomery.
I love that the concerts in the park have slowly changed the face of our neighborhood. Houses near the Bottom Park sell fast, and many of the older homes on the park have been beautifully renovated. People have realized the joy of park living, and also realized that the $100,000+ you save by buying outside of Old Cloverdale can go a long way toward
renovations. Young families now outnumber old shut-ins, and time will hasten that demographic change. In the few years I’ve lived in Cloverdale- Idlewild, I’ve seen firsthand how much stronger the neighborhood has grown. I attribute much of that growth to the concert series.
Other neighborhoods should be looking for their own annual, high-profile, vibrant events -- the benefit these events bring cannot be ignored. What can historic South Hull do to bring people out to see that neighborhood? How can Capitol Heights leverage its parks and commercial districts in a way that will generate activity in the neighborhood? What annual activity can Cottage Hills host, taking advantage of its own unique character and diversity. I’m not suggesting dozens of concert series, but something each individual neighborhood can make its own.
The neighborhood association’s involvement is key. The Cloverdale- Idlewild neighborhood association funds the majority of the concert series through a BONDS (Building Our Neighborhood for Development and Success) grant. The BONDS program is a city-run initiative that trains and strengthens neighborhoods associations throughout Montgomery. Having major events organized by each neighborhood association matters. Putting on a major event requires people from the neighborhood to work together, strengthening ties between different members of the community. Stronger ties between neighbors means a stronger neighborhood, and cooperation during the planning and execution of the event spills over into cooperation on other important issues, from neighborhood watch to creating a listserv that helps neighborhood residents find lost animals.
If you want something to happen in your neighborhood, join your neighborhood association and start attending meetings. Come up with some ideas, convince your neighbors to come on board, and see if you can turn your dreams for your neighborhood into reality. The city may support your efforts with a BONDS grant to help you get started, and if you need other funding, reach out to local businesses and partner up. The city started the BONDS program “in an effort to improve the overall quality of life throughout the city and County of Montgomery.” The improvements to overall quality of life in Montgomery begin at the neighborhood level. They begin with an idea for something as simple as a neighborhood concert series. They begin because of the ideas of someone like you.