It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon on September 15. A long-awaited, postponed by the summer heat, music festival of the Windsor Green Acton Housing Authority played out at the half-shady and half-sunny back patio, which was built in 2023 and funded, along with equipment, by a Creative Placemaking grant from the state. About forty people attended the event, most of whom were residents and their families and friends.
Resident Gary Barbati produced the event and provided a sound system and mixer. Performers sang traditional Chinese folk songs and played ethnic instruments such as bawu (a free reed), hulusi (a gourd flute) and erhu (a Chinese two-stringed fiddle). The simple and rather rustic melodies from these instruments intrigued the audience. Seventy-nine year old Shanda Zhang and his yoga teacher Ms. Zhang danced in duet to a rumba tune.
Gary Barbati and Patricia Sardella sang and played guitar to American popular and folk songs through the decades, bringing back excitement from the good old days. Performers were applauded at the end of every piece. Before the end of the festival, residents were already proposing the time for the next event and discussing whether guest performers and audience could be invited.
