Marrickville hosts Block Party for refugees

Marrickville hosts Block Party for refugees

By Joe Bourke

Hip Hop collective One Day are bringing their monthly block party ‘One Day Sundays’ (ODS) to the Factory Theatre for the second time this weekend.

The party, which used to be held at the Vic on the Park, is celebrating its two year anniversary this Sunday and has become hugely popular since its inception.

This month’s edition will be the first time the party will be ticketed, with 100% of proceeds from the $10 tickets going to charity.

Nick Bryant-Smith is part of the One Day crew, and said ODS started as a small social event but has grown to the point where tickets are more suitable.

“Now we’re at the point where at the last event we were turning away literally hundreds of people at about 4PM, so we’ve had to try and do something… “Sometimes people have travelled an hour or an hour and a half to come to One Day Sundays, so we thought this would be a good way to ensure that those people who are most passionate about the party can make sure that they get in and reserve their spot ahead of time.” Mr Bryant-Smith said.

All proceeds from the tickets will go to Sydney based NGO Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS), which provides free legal advice and casework assistance to financially disadvantaged asylum seekers.

“It’s a cause that we all feel passionate about given that we’re all privileged and lucky to live in the Inner West and live the sort of lifestyle that we live.

“We kind of feel like asylum seekers are some of the most vulnerable people out there at the moment and certainly some of the people that are being demonised or persecuted the most by Australian society and politics and discussion.” Mr Bryant-Smith said.

One Day’s efforts to raise money for RACS have come after the Federal Government cut their funding last year.

Marrickville’s ODS events will rotate charities each month, with an emphasis on local issues and the organisations aiming to fix them.

Nick said the One Day crew aims to give back something positive to the Inner West community they grew up in.

“We all care about it a lot, and it’s a place and an upbringing that’s been very good to us and brought us all together, so we’re very passionate about looking after it and trying to improve it wherever we can.”

Feb 22, One Day Sundays at the Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville. Tickets $10 from tix.onedaysundays.com

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