Blog
Celebrating Native American Heritage Month with Levitt Communities
Celebrated each November, National Native American Heritage Month is a time to honor the diverse traditions, stories, and contributions of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities. Initiated in 1990, this annual recognition commemorates Indigenous histories—and the vibrancy of contemporary Native cultures and peoples in the present moment and into the future. …
My First Levitt Concert Experience
A year and a half ago, when I applied to be the Levitt Foundation’s Communications Fellow and first learned about the Levitt mission, the idea of free outdoor music connecting people, invigorating community life, and strengthening the social fabric of America instantly made sense to me. Though I never had thought about it in that…
Experiencing the Levitt National Tour at Levitt Pavilion Dayton
I have a confession: Since joining the Levitt Foundation communications team as Content Writer in August 2023, I’ve been a wee jealous of my Levitt network peers who have experienced the Levitt National Tour firsthand. The program—a celebration of the collective impact of Levitt venues in cities nationwide—has nurtured joy, connectivity, and a sense of…
Levitt VIBE Indianapolis Community Spotlight
This fall, Indianapolis’s oldest public green space, Garfield Park, located in the diverse Near Southside neighborhood, experienced a burst of vitality, community and joy with the debut of the Levitt VIBE Indianapolis Music Series. Standing for Vibrant Inclusive Beats for Everyone, the Levitt VIBE program is a two-year, pilot matching grant that brings five to…
Hispanic and Latinx Artists Pioneering Change Through Music
The illustrious Puerto Rican singer, actress, and dancer Rita Moreno once said, “It is through art that we will prevail and we will endure. It lives on after us and defines us as people.” As an organization at the intersection of the arts and social impact, the Levitt Foundation deeply identifies with Moreno’s words—especially today,…
Levitt Foundation Supports Visioning Events at SummerStage 2024 in Staten Island
For close to four decades, City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage festival has provided the soundtrack for New Yorkers’ summer memories. Infusing more than 80 music and cultural events in Manhattan’s Central Park and a dozen other neighborhood spaces across the Big Apple, the celebration unfolds from May through October each year and is presented across all…
Levitt VIBE Belmont Cragin Community Spotlight: Music Series Debuts in Chicago
Even the largest city is made up of a series of neighborhoods, and there’s no better example than Chicago. From Lincoln Park to the Magnificent Mile and everything in between, each of the Windy City’s neighborhoods teems with its own distinct life and energy, making this giant metropolis of nearly three million people feel like…
National Arts in Education Week: How Levitt Communities Promote Creative Learning All Year Long
President Barack Obama once remarked, “The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create.” At the Levitt Foundation, we could not agree more. A well-educated youth is conducive to our vision of an America filled with free live music in public spaces and equitable, healthy, and thriving communities. As PBS…
Levitt VIBE Oakland Community Spotlight
Earlier this summer, the feel-good vibes of Latin rap, Afrobeat, soul, and other electrifying genres began radiating through two parks in Northern California’s East Oakland, a predominately Black community located in the southeastern region of the City of Oakland, at the outset of the inaugural Levitt VIBE Oakland Music Series. Presented by local nonprofit Black…
Fueling the Movement for Free Concerts in Public Spaces Through Grantee Thought Leadership
Between hundreds of free concerts returning to Levitt communities, the start of the Levitt National Tour featuring GRAMMY-nominated act The War & Treaty, and the launch of brand-new programs like Levitt VIBE and Levitt BLOC, spring and early summer have been a joyously busy time for the Levitt network. And yet, building community through free,…