PopUp group seeks helpers

Organizers of PopUp in the Rock will hold a public meeting to plan their next event, PopUp West Ninth, at 5:30 p.m. April 20 at StudioMain, 1423 Main St. in Little Rock.

The meeting's focus is to gather ideas for a research-based street fair Oct. 24 encompassing the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at Ninth Street and Broadway, the Dreamland Ballroom at Ninth and State streets, the State Street overpass over Interstate 630 and the campus of Philander Smith College.

Developed by StudioMain and Create Little Rock, PopUp events include art, music and food vendors to draw the public into city areas with underdeveloped potential so everyone can see what could happen with increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic there.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Ninth Street corridor was a commercial and cultural center with many businesses owned by black residents. For instance, a directory of black-owned businesses in Little Rock in 1898 compiled on the website arkansasties.com lists 45 with addresses on West Ninth. The neighborhood was in decline in the 1960s when it was split by construction of the expressway that became Interstate 630.

More information is available online at facebook.com/PopUpintheRock, via email to popupintherock@gmail.com and on Twitter, @PopUpintheRock.

ActiveStyle on 04/13/2015

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