Block party in Belmont-DeVilliers
- November 15, 2014
- / Reggie Dogan
- / community-dashboard
Carter J. Gaston has a brush for history.
The self-proclaimed “world’s greatest live portrait artist” spent the week painting a mural on the side of a building in historic Belmont-DeVilliers as part of the first Back to the Block Festival.
The colorful images represent the long history of Belmont-DeVilliers, once the hub of business, culture and entertainment for the black community of Pensacola.
“I’m so glad to be a part of this celebration,” said Gaston, gliding his paintbrush across the building to bring his life colorful portraits. “It’s exciting to share the pictures of historic figures in Pensacola.”
Gaston put the finishing touches on his artwork Saturday as the festival comes to an end tonight with a block party in the middle of Belmont Street.
The five-day celebration of art, film, dance and music in highlighted the entertainment, culture and history of Belmont-DeVilliers.
Along with the public mural, the festival included studio performances, street musicians, a film festival, author and an old-fashioned block party.
The smell of barbecue and the sound of music mingled in the cool afternoon air as the crowd began to trickle into the neighborhood.
On tap for the main event tonight is saxophonist Antoine Knight, a Pensacola native who has played in concerts across the country, including a performance at DeLunaFest on Pensacola Beach.
Gaston’s mural represents a collection of prominent people and places that contributed to black history in Pensacola.
Colorful images of Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James Jr, the national first black four-star general, Dr. John Sunday, James Polkinhorne Jr. and F.E. Washington, editor and publisher of The Color Citizen, a black newspaper in the early 1900s, now grace the side of the cultural museum.
Festival coordinator Sadiqa Ali beamed as she watched people milling around, eating, dancing and enjoying Saturday's festival.
“There have been a lot of improvements going into this area,” Ali said. “This is our first festival and we want to do it every year.”
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