The Stand to offer free Fatherhood Portraits to dads on their big day
In addition to The Stand’s South Side Photo Walk, set for Sunday, June 19, volunteers will set up a photo booth and be on hand to snap portraits of local dads with their kids.
Photographer Elijah Gustus will take photos and Stand board member Tyrone Dixon will assist and collect information to ensure final printed portraits make it back to all the local dads who stop by to pose for a photo.
Gustus is a retired event photographer and owner of Mauvretic’s Images. For more than 30 years he served as the company photographer for Anheuser-Busch in Baldwinsville.
Dixon joined The Stand’s board last year and is the CEO and founder of Aroze Through Concrete Consulting. He was even a previously featured dad in our Fatherhood Spotlight. When asked what’s special about fatherhood, he had this to say: “Something I was not expecting as a result would be the depth of love that it brought me, and the depth of appreciation it brought to my life. It was like, ‘Oh wow, this is what life is about. This is the beauty of life.’”
At the booth, local fathers can also sign up or nominate other dads to be featured in future Fatherhood Spotlights, which have become our most popular articles — ones never lacking in nominations from the community.
Families can find our booth as part of the newly offered celebration organized by South Side volunteers with the Save the 16th Coalition. Freedom Day will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 19, at the intersection of South Salina Street and MLK West. The event will feature a performance by Trumptight315 and gospel singers, several resource tables, food vendors and gifts to celebrate the dads in the community. Residents will also have the chance to meet candidates running for political offices.
Save the 16th Coalition is a new group incoproated under the Greater Syracuse Southside Homeowners Association Project S.O.U.L. (Saving Our Urban Lives). Its focus is to raise community awareness.