HISTORIC SOUTHSIDE INCORPORATED

Community Events - Providing free, safe activities and promoting public spaces for the Near Southside community. HSI produces the annual ArtsGoggle festival, the Friday on the Green and Lost 'N Sound live music series, and Open Streets community events. ArtsGoggle began in 2002 as an indoor gallery night and has grown into a street festival that spans a mile of Near Southside's prominent Magnolia Avenue. Highlighting local artists, this family-friendly event hosts more than 1,000 visual artists, 50 musical performances, artistic displays of every kind, food, drink, and fun for everyone. ArtsGoggle attracts over 80,000 visitors to the Near Southside. Friday on the Green is a free, community concert series produced annually in the spring/fall at the Magnolia Green park. Open Streets is a 6-hour annual event that closes Magnolia Avenue to vehicles and opens the streets for cyclists, scooters, strollers, food trucks, dog walkers, skateboarders, yoga classes, face painters and free activities hosted by local businesses. Open Streets has grown to be one of the Near Southside's most beloved community events with attendance in the thousands and more than 150 community partners providing free activities for our patrons.

Public Space Beautification - Creating special places for people is an essential component of the Near Southside's revitalization and continued community development. Public space projects in 2023 included continued renovation and improvement of the South Main MicroPark and the South Main Squeeze pedestrian plaza, two active social and leisure spaces for visitors to South Main Village. As a complement to these outdoor public space improvements, the organization also led a wide range of public art exhibitions and educational programs at The Pool, a community art gallery on 8th Avenue and a primary focus of our Art South initiative.