Dave Chappelle To Host Weapon-Free Block Party & Concert Benefit Honoring Dayton Shooting Victims
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Comedian Dave Chappelle will host a special “pop-up party and benefit concert” Sunday, Aug. 25, in Dayton, Ohio’s Oregon District, site of a mass shooting earlier this month that left nine people dead and 27 injured.
Chappelle is a longtime resident of nearby Yellow Springs, Ohio. His benefit appearance arrives the day before his much-anticipated new comedy special Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones launches on Netflix. He’ll receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in October, with a PBS broadcast of that event airing in January.
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Gem City Shine (referencing Dayton’s nickname) will include local and national entertainment, according to the benefit’s Facebook page, which also mentions that the event will be “weapon-free,” with metal detectors set up at each entrance gate.
And Chappelle, who required audiences at his recent Broadway performances to put their cellphones in locked Yondr pouches, has encouraged attendees at the Dayton event to “live in the moment” and, says the Facebook page, “simply enjoy the experience rather than record via cellphone.”
Sponsored by the City of Dayton, the Downtown Dayton Partnership and the Chamber of Commerce, Gem City Shine was organized “to honor those affected by the Oregon District shooting and reclaim the Oregon District as a place to gather, eat, and shop…” Described as a “block party,” the food-and-entertainment festival (free but ticket required) will run from 4 pm to 10 pm local time, though timing of Chappelle’s hosting is not specified.
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