Nicetown CDC’s ‘Give Back Festival’ will honor Kenny Gamble and TSOP

The Nicetown Community Development Corp. scheduled a Thursday morning press conference to announce details for next weekend’s “Give Back Festival.”

Among many offerings, the 10th annual edition of the event will feature a tribute to Kenny Gamble and The Sound of Philadelphia on Aug. 11.

Lucretia Crawford, program coordinator for NTCDC, said the two-day event was designed to give back to the community while educating residents how to live peacefully together.

“If we can dedicate two days to non-violence and just having a good time, I think that is a wonderful thing for the Nicetown community and surrounding areas,” said Crawford.

The schedule

The lineup for Friday, Aug. 10 includes a college fair and live entertainment from Philly SoulStock that will showcase various genres such as rock, hip hop and gospel.

Ten high school seniors will also receive the Zakee Abdur-Rahman Education Scholarship. The scholarship was named after Abdur-Rahman who lost his life in 2009 as a direct result of violence in the community. He is the son Zakariyya Abdur-Rahman, president and CEO of NTCDC.

On Saturday, community members will embark on a noon “Walk for Peace” event that encourages community members to protest against violence and crime in the neighborhood.

There will also be a boxing competition hosted by former welterweight champion and Nicetown native Ivan Robinson at 1:30 p.m., as well as the tribute to Kenneth Gamble, chairman of Universal Companies.

There will also be a Saturnday night evening concert featuring The Sound of Philadelphia with Bill Jolly, The Delphonics, Billy Paul and Amazing Grace.

The event will be held at the Nicetown Court located at 4340 Germantown Ave.