Old School Committee annual cookout in Swope Park ‘going on 10 years’
KANSAS CITY, Mo . — The Old School Committee held its annual cookout Saturday at Swope Park.
The group hosts the event as a way to bring the Kansas City community together for food, music and family fun while also providing access to essential resources.
“What we do here is get the community together, and we realized that once we have the community together and we have everyone’s attention, let’s provide resources because when you have the community together, and you provide resources, that’s when you start to grow,” said Old School Committee member Priscilla Irvin.
The Old School Committee fundraises throughout the year to host the annual cookout, which includes plenty of good food, small business vendors, music, and other entertainment.
The event also connects people with community resources like healthcare and violence prevention programs.
“For almost ten years, and it has always been between 500 to 1500 people, and there is not one ounce of violence,” said Old School Committee member Michael Oates.
“They said we can’t do it, but we do it every year.”
The Old School Committee was created in 2015 when founders and others realized they were meeting at funerals too often and saw a need for an event that brings people together under positive circumstances.
“We started at a funeral. We were tired of meeting at funerals, and we said let’s do something, and that’s how this all got started,” Oates explained.
“It was Bennie, Big Mike, and Bradley, and then we all got on, and now we are going on ten years. This is our 9th year.”
Last year, the founder received a proclamation from the Mayor and City Council members recognizing the annual cookout as a festival of friendship and good food. The founders are also recognized in that proclamation for making a positive difference in the city.
“We do this out of the heart that we have and to bring the community together, and once we are here and we see what it does, it just makes it all worth it,” Irvin said.
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