The Movement of the Minds community clean-up day held in Portland.
Volunteers of all ages are invited to join hip-hop community-outreach program Movement of the Minds for a community clean-up day in the towns of Damariscotta and Newcastle from 6-8 p.m., Monday, Sept. 5. Meet at the back parking lot behind Renys in Damariscotta, rain or shine. Gloves and trash bags will be provided.
Portland-based Movement of the Minds is designed to get young kids involved in the arts to give back to their community. It is an outgrowth of the community hip-hop showcase called Monday of the Minds, held on the second and fourth Mondays in Portland. What started as a clean-up day in Deering Oaks Park has now extended to include food, clothing, and statewide volunteer clean-up days.
Movement of the Minds has already organized numerous successful clean-up days in Portland. The City of Portland Parks and Recreation Department has donated trash bags and gloves to support the effort, as well as arranged for the disposal of the trash. The local arts magazine The Portland Phoenix has featured then group in its Eight Days A Week section multiple times. The response from the community has been extremely supportive, and the movement is now being taken to the statewide level. The connection between the arts and the community has always been important, and Movement of the Minds hopes to grow and support that connection.
Stay On Mars is a hip-hop artist from Portland, and is the founder of Movement of the Minds and the hip-hop showcase Monday of the Minds. Raised in Bristol, the 2007 Lincoln Academy graduate believes it is important that the next step for Movement of the Minds should be going back and cleaning up the streets of his hometown area. There is an immense amount of talent in the Midcoast region that goes unnoticed, and hopefully these kinds of events can shine some light on the area.
To learn more about this event, or to schedule an interview with Stay On Mars, contact Zachary Mullin at 380-5056 or rizinginlife@gmail.com.
