‘Cherry Hill Strong’: Message Behind July 4th Festival

BALTIMORE, Md. — There was another theme behind this Fourth of July celebration besides the obvious one.

Just a few minutes into the festival, we’ve already heard the phrase “Cherry Hill strong” repeatedly.

“That’s what we’re here for. We’re here to celebrate our community and we want to show unity and how it brings us together,” said Asia Webster, one of the organizers.

The 8th annual Cherry Hill Arts & Music Waterfront Festival kicked off in the mid-afternoon heat. It runs through 10 p.m. tonight. Fireworks are at 9:30 p.m., overlooking the Patapsco River. There’s food, kids’ entertainment, live music and art. One of the vendors was aptly named “Cherry Hill Strong,” a nonprofit neighborhood revitalization group.

“The community chose us, we didn’t choose ourselves. It’s a universal mantra for all Cherry Hill residents. We’re lucky to be a part of it. It’s already the attitude and the mindset of the people who live here, they’re strong in Cherry Hill, and we’re their representatives to bring forward their vision of what they want to see in their neighborhood,” said Natasha Muhammad, one of the organization’s directors.

Muhammad says the festival is a great opportunity for the community to come together.

“It magnifies the beauty and symbolizes what Cherry Hill really is: a very peaceful community, a waterfront community, a very historic Black community that has so many great residents and leaders and embodies everything that we are.”

People coming from out of town would also agree.

Lisa Thomas, owner of Philadelphia-based Half & Half Water Ice, said, “I love the people, the atmosphere, the kids, they really love our water ice. We’re from Philadelphia and last year when we came, a lot of people said they’d never had water ice before, and we love seeing the joy on their faces when they taste it.”

We met 10-year-old Ehsan Adouane, visiting Baltimore for a summer program at Johns Hopkins. He quickly found his groove with this group of drummers.

“I feel like it’s in my blood, I feel it. Because I’m from North Africa, and I feel it.”

(Adouane kindly asked us to promote his YouTube channel, where he posts videos about coding and science.)

For Namibia El, her visit to the South Baltimore festival last year was a happy accident, which is now becoming a tradition.

“It’s funny because it came up on my Facebook and it said ‘Cherry Hill.’ And I live near Cherry Hill, New Jersey. So I thought it was closer. Monie Love was there, an artist I love, old-school hip-hop. It was free, so I said, ‘Okay, I’ll come.’ And I liked the vibe, and I said this year I wanted to come as a vendor.”

Sherron Jernigan booked a spot early with her sister and niece. They planned to camp out all day while waiting for tonight’s fireworks.

“I love it. It’s a beautiful gathering. It’s grown. And I was just thinking, I hope they keep this up for a long, long time.”

Of the theme “Cherry Hill Strong,” Jernigan said, “I grew up here in Cherry Hill. We’re not stopping anytime soon. We’re stronger than ever and we’re moving with the times.”