SOULCASE Community Night Unites Arts and Wellness

The Konscious Community Center in Asbury Park will host SOULCASE Community Night on June 21, 2025, bringing together diverse elements of art, music, and holistic wellness. Beginning at 5:00 PM, this immersive experience created by Konscious Youth Development & Service (KYDS) invites participants of all ages to engage in a vibrant tapestry of sound, spirit, and connection through activities including community drum circles, spoken word performances, and creative arts, according to North to Shore Festival organizers.

Located at 631 Lake Avenue, the event promises to break down walls and celebrate diversity through interactive experiences that foster community connection. Attendees can also explore a local vendor marketplace focused on holistic health, enjoy nourishing plant-based cuisine, and participate in healing-oriented arts and crafts activities.

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Community Leaders with Transformative Vision

KYDS, the organization behind SOULCASE Community Night, was founded in 2014 by Mychal Mills and Rodney Salomon, two Monmouth University graduates with a passion for supporting the minds, bodies, and souls of Asbury Park residents through holistic practices. Their work has grown from small community gatherings to comprehensive programming that now reaches thousands of young people and adults throughout New Jersey, according to Monmouth Magazine.

Mills and Salomon began by organizing open mic nights that brought together community members of all ages to share poetry, music, and spoken word. From this foundation, they developed KYDS into a multi-faceted organization offering meditation sessions, yoga classes, youth development programs, and community-building events throughout the area.

“Our vision is for a more balanced community and world,” Mills has stated about the organization’s mission, highlighting their commitment to creating spaces where individuals can connect with themselves and others in meaningful ways. This philosophy informs the structure of SOULCASE Community Night, which integrates artistic expression with mindfulness practices.

Holistic Approach to Community Building

SOULCASE Community Night exemplifies KYDS’s holistic approach to community wellness, which recognizes that sustainable change requires addressing multiple dimensions of human experience. The event’s inclusion of physical activities like drumming, creative expression through spoken word, and nutritional elements through plant-based food offerings reflects this integrated perspective, as noted by Yoga Journal in its coverage of the organization.

This approach has proven effective in KYDS’s work throughout Asbury Park and surrounding communities, where they have implemented programs in over 25 schools reaching more than 3,000 students and 500 educators. Their success demonstrates the appetite for holistic wellness practices in urban environments where residents face various social and economic challenges.

The community drum circle planned for the event serves as both a metaphor and mechanism for this approach, creating a unified rhythm from diverse individual contributions. Similarly, the spoken word performances provide opportunities for personal expression within a supportive communal context.

Bridging Generational and Cultural Divides

SOULCASE Community Night’s explicit intention to welcome participants “whether you’re 8 or 80” highlights KYDS’s commitment to intergenerational connection. This emphasis responds to the organization’s recognition that community transformation requires engaging people across age groups, as segregation by age can limit the transfer of wisdom and mutual understanding essential for collective growth.

Since their earliest open mic events, which brought together performers and audience members spanning generations, Mills and Salomon have prioritized creating spaces where age barriers dissolve. This approach acknowledges that young people benefit from elder wisdom while elders gain energy and fresh perspectives from youth—a dynamic exchange that strengthens community bonds.

The event’s location in Asbury Park, a city with significant socioeconomic diversity and a complex history of urban development, adds particular significance to this bridging function. By creating accessible spaces for authentic connection, KYDS helps build social capital that can strengthen community resilience.

Accessible Wellness Practices

The vendor marketplace featuring holistic health products and services reflects KYDS’s commitment to making wellness practices accessible to community members. By bringing these resources into a community-oriented context, the event helps demystify practices that might otherwise seem exclusive or inaccessible to some residents.

The emphasis on plant-based cuisine similarly supports wellness through nutrition while introducing attendees to sustainable food choices. This culinary dimension adds a sensory experience that complements the event’s audio and visual elements, creating a truly immersive environment.

The arts and crafts activities extend this accessibility by providing hands-on engagement with creative processes that support emotional expression and mindfulness. These tactile experiences offer entry points to wellness practices that might feel more approachable than formal meditation or yoga for some participants.

Part of Broader Festival Programming

As a component of the Prudential North to Shore Festival, SOULCASE Community Night connects to broader cultural programming spanning Newark, Asbury Park, and Atlantic City. This association amplifies KYDS’s impact while demonstrating the festival’s commitment to programming that extends beyond entertainment to address community well-being.

The event’s timing on June 21st, coinciding with the summer solstice, adds symbolic significance as the longest day of the year marks a period of maximum light—a fitting metaphor for an event centered on illuminating connections between community members. This seasonal alignment enhances the celebratory atmosphere while providing a natural opportunity for reflection on growth and potential.

For attendees seeking a meaningful community experience that nourishes body, mind, and spirit, SOULCASE Community Night offers a rare opportunity to engage with holistic practices in an inclusive, joyful environment designed to foster genuine human connection.

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