Every single person has been affected by COVID. We feel the isolation it brought as we have attempted to mitigate COVID’s impact on our community. It has been two very long years. We at Freedom International School, located in Mission Baptist Church at 771 Sargent Avenue, have greatly missed connecting with our West End community. We assume you have missed your neighbours as well. Therefore, we desire to host the

Asante Street Festival on May 19th from 2 to 9 PM, and we want you there!

We’re planning a party to say Asante - Thank you. Asante to our sponsors, Asante to our school community, Asante to our West End community. Asante for having a chance to gather for fun, food, and laughter!

This event is a fundraiser for our school. We anticipate our student body doubling, possibly tripling in less than a year due to families from South Sudan and many other countries waiting to be relocated to Winnipeg. This is an opportunity for businesses and organizations in the West End to come alongside those living in our area with connection, mental health support, and tangible help.

Our dream? We would LOVE to shut down Sargent Avenue from Home Street to Simcoe Street from 10:30 am to 10:30 pm… are we crazy?? Maybe. However, we think it’s time to have a massive party with our neighbours; outdoor and COVID-safe. We want to have safe access to the park across the street for lots of free activities for kids and families. We’re planning for plenty of space for vendors on Sargent Avenue as well as live music, dance performances, and food stalls. Our parking lot will host a 3 on 3 basketball tournament. Fast Air Ltd. has generously committed to underwriting all of our expenses for this event so that we can bring in excellent performers, a great sound system and all the tables, chairs, tents and lights that we need! This is the event we’ve been waiting for, we are ready to make some great memories with you.

If you think that shutting down Sargent Ave for one block for 12 hours to party with West Enders is a much needed activity this May, please sign our petition!