A Year with beSocial
See you next year!
2023 held many memorable moments across our spaces, but we wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without the support of our neighborhoods. We welcomed a new space in Baltimore, and new faces into our creative programming.
MUSIC
Music took the lead with Charlotte hosting listening partist from artists such as Reuben Vincent, Tymia Robins, Jo Pastel, 8BALLKAINE, Anella Herim, De’Semaj, and more, to the first ever Charlotte producer competition, Pack’t created by Ziante Solano, with a goal of finding the best producer in the city, but with a twist. Houston created a dedicated group for Press Players Club, an interactive vinyl club held monthly at beSocial to discuss classic albums and soundtracks. This year they highlighted The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Thriller, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Me Against the World, Ready to Die, Waiting to Exhale (Soundtrack), Lemonade, 4:44, Ctrl, and good kid, m.A.A.d city. While Pittsburgh had fun hosting Karaoke nights where people really showed off their hidden talents.
ATHLETICS
The interest in athletics continued strong from last year with Hoop Club across Charlotte, Houston, and Greensboro spaces. Nothing like a friendly competition across our teams in different states to keep the Hoop Club teams growing from week to week. Run Club with Mad Miles made a strong impression bringing in the largest beSocial athletics crowd we’ve seen yet. The digital option allowed for runners not in our city to join and hold each other accountable with monthly goals. F.C. Eido Soccer Club was able to continuously host soccer meetups for a friendly game during the warmer days. We can’t wait to see this continued in the spring.
FREE GAME
Our beSocial spaces held many Free Game sessions in Charlotte and Houston with compelling topics such as Entitlement, Funding Black Businesses with guests from CLT Impact Investors, and many Open Forum discussions. Free Game made its way to many educational institutions; Harvard Business School, Clark Atlanta University, Florida A&M University, and Northwestern University. The Black Footwear Forum in Detroit and the BMAC hosted Free Game sessions where the significance of entrepreneurship and the empowerment of the Black Dollar were the center topics, along with spotlighting Black legacy builders aiming to close the wealth gap.
We hope to see you in 2024 across any of our spaces in a wide range of interests. You can view upcoming events here.
Don’t see an event you’re interested in or you’re looking to host your own event? Contact us: community@thewhitakergrp.com.
