June 6 — Steppin’ for the Hungry Dinner & Dance
Hoosiers who are unfamiliar with step-dancing have been deprived of a wonderful aspect of American culture. See a reunion of some of Indianapolis’s greatest steppers, and be part of feeding your poor neighbors.
When: Friday June 6, 6 - 10 p.m.
Where: Madame Walker Theatre Center, Grand Casino Ballroom on the fourth floor 617 Indiana Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46202
Steppers use their entire bodies as instruments, stamping and clapping and chanting. Rooted in African American college fraternities, step-dancing is a thrill.
Mozel Sanders Foundation, Inc. will host “Steppin for the Hungry” dinner & dance from 6 - 10 p.m. in the Grand Casino Ballroom on the fourth floor of the Madame Walker Building to raise money for the foundation’s mobile food pantry. Meals will be packaged and delivered by real fathers, real men to single moms Father’s Day weekend. Included in the evening will be a soul food buffet and a stepper’s reunion. Tickets are $25. Call the Center at 317.236.2099 for details.
Know before you go … This is for a very good cause. Rev. Dr. Mozel Sanders appointed Pastor of Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church in 1959. Under his leadership, the church grew from a small one-room building with about 20 members to a newly remodeled church with over 500 members. Rev. Dr. Mozel Sanders was always interested in the needs of people and he worked diligently with the church and the community to meet the needs of the people in the community. He received numerous awards and achievements for his efforts. He is known throughout the state of Indiana for starting the annual Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving Dinner and as establishing Mt. Vernon as a beacon of light in the city of Indianapolis. The Thanksgiving Dinner feeds thousands annually and is celebrating 34 years. A charter school, a park and a street have been named in honor of Dr. Mozel Sanders, Minister and distinguished community leader.
If you want to learn more about stepping, Soulstepping: African American Step Shows by Elizabeth C. Fine is a good introduction. Or watch this:
If this sounds like a worthy cause, you should check out … Some other fundraisers in June that will try to help kids in need: June 5 for “Second Story,” which helps connect kids to literature, writing, and poetry; June 6 (the same evening) for Friends of St. Jude, which supports research and treatment for childhood cancer; and June 8 relief for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. Give to all of them, attend as many performances as possible.
