The Metro: Hoopfest takes over Northwest Goldberg
Daniel Washington, executive director and founder of Northwest Goldberg Cares, joined the show to share more about the second annual event.
The second annual Hoopfest kicks off on Friday in Detroit's Northwest Goldberg neighborhood.
When you walk around Detroit during the summer, it’s a completely different experience than any other season. The sun is shining, people are out, and all kinds of interactions are had — including a range of parties and barbecues.
One of those celebrations is Hoopfest, which starts Friday in the Northwest Goldberg neighborhood of Detroit.
The three-day event includes free food trucks, giveaways, competitions and special guests, including basketball celebrity Chris Webber and Detroit rapper Baby Money.
Daniel Washington, executive director and founder of Northwest Goldberg Cares, joined The Metro on Friday to talk about the second annual event.
Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
The center of the event is Curtis Jones Park, a basketball court that honors the life of its namesake. Jones was an elite ball player at Detroit’s Northwestern High School who scored the game winning basket in the first televised Public School League Championship in 1967.
Washington says he’s heard stories of Jones being compared to Magic Johnson.
“To his death he kept saying, ‘I want to build a court one day and I’m gonna, you know, give back to the kids.’ So we’re just trying to uplift that part of him and we don’t want his story to be forgotten.”
A basketball court has been missing from the Northwest Goldberg neighborhood for years, Washington says.
“It took three years to raise the funds to be able to build a court in our neighborhood. We hadn’t had a court in our neighborhood since I was a child.”
For more information about Hoopfest, visit nwgoldbergcares.com/hoopfest2023.
Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Washington.
More headlines from The Metro on July 19, 2024:
- The city of Detroit’s Neighborhood Beautification Program has supported residents in transforming vacant lots into gardens, small parks or even community treehouses. Tammy Black, founder of the Manistique Community Treehouse in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood, joined the show to discuss creating more community spaces in her neighborhood.
- Sunday is National Ice Cream Day! MJ’s North End Ice Cream Parlor Marketing Manager Amber Justice joined The Metro to give the scoop on how the family-owned ice scream shop in Detroit’s North End is celebrating.
- The city’s Department of Transportation office is using $30 million dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed under the Biden administration to acquire 21 new hybrid and four hydrogen buses. Interim Director of the Detroit Department of Transportation Michael Staley joined the show to discuss the department’s transition to clean energy.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
