People behind the Party - Dancing in the Street 2022

If you live in the Atlantic/Neptune/Jacksonville Beaches area, you look forward to Dancing in the Street every May. We close the streets to cars up on the corner, and bring in bands and beers and then… we dance, we drink, we see lovely old friends, the kids bounce around in houses, we eat, we shop with local artists. It’s a GREAT party. This was the first DITS in two years … so it was truly a celebration to be back together—beach peeps and over-the-ditchers a like.

There is so so much that goes into making this community get together happen… and I wanted to capture that—The workers, the sweat, the machines, the cords, the truck drivers, the signage, tables and barriers; the electricity needed here not there …so many details. These are the faces behind the party that most of us never think about. We just show up and try not to spill our beer.

I started making photos on the morning before DITS, and I ended right as the first people were joyfully being metal scanned and purse searched. It all comes together surprisingly quickly, this party, with just a few hands at first—those men in the first series of photos did a hell of a job. The morning-of prep was also impressive … lots more volunteers and vendors and people with folders pointing at and to things. Lots more sweat-soaked shirts, but even more smiling faces. What a team. Everyone seemed happy to be there cranking this thing up.

This is for all the volunteers, drivers, worker-bees, and for the planners and professionals. Thank you for making this happen for our community. We needed it! Watch and appreciate the people. All the lovely people.