The Sounds By South Bend Festival, originally founded by Gus Bennett and Dena Woods, has involved members of the Bridge Project since its second year.

In May of 2015, musicians of all genres, many of whom were local acts, took to the stage in venues stretching across downtown South Bend and into Mishawaka. Some of the locations were established night spots, while others were new or temporary sites set up specifically for the event. All of them stayed busy with festival attendees.

The event attendance climbed to 1,000 music fans, nearly 200 of whom were students from the Notre Dame campus. It’s what Meghan O’Brien, one of the founding members of South Bend’s The Bridge Project, calls “phenomenal.”

The student turnout both in the audience and as festival volunteers connect directly to the mission of the Bridge Project, which has been to promote and cultivate involvement of area college students in the local community, challenging attitudes that the culture of South Bend and that of the local campuses are separate. After encountering a campus environment that did not encourage exploration to the outside world, Bridge founders O’Brien, Will Murray, Dan Courtney and Olivia LaMagna took a rebellious journey into the city and found that there was much to interest them.

Initially, they formed with the idea that they would help revitalize downtown South Bend, but further exploration showed them that what was needed was not a wakeup for the city, but a connection between it and local students.

“What if I told you there were all of these cool events in downtown South Bend,” O’Brien would say to her fellow students at Notre Dame, many of whom had never ventured outside the university.

The more she talked to them, the more she realized the lack of connection was in large part due simply to unfamiliarity with the local region by many students not originally from the area. The Bridge Project set out to change that “through socio-cultural events such as concerts, music festivals, art shows, and the like.” They spread the word through grass-roots efforts on campus, including regularly handing out free CDs compiling the music donated by local artists.

The Bridge Project has continued its mission beyond its involvement in the Sounds By South Bend festival.

Along with the Birdsell Project, they’ve been heavily involved in creating and promoting events at the Birdsell Mansion in South Bend.

The mansion, built in 1898 by the inventors of the Birdsell Alfalfa Huller, has seen periods of vacancy, but is now finding new purpose as the projects work to convert it into a cultural center. It holds artist studio space on the second floor and hosted a number of performances during Sounds By South Bend. It was the June home for the newly revived community event Second Sun and hosted a recent murder mystery evening. With a grand opening planned for Aug. 15, regular live music events and more are planned for the future.

The Bridge Project will continue to expand, but for Meghan and the founding members, the time has come to pass the torch. With all four having now graduated from college, they’re moving on to the next phase of their lives. Current students will continue down the path they started, further connecting the the culture of local college students with the city of South Bend and expanding on the mission they started.

“I really have a lot of faith in the new generation of The Bridge. They’re going to blow us out of the water.”

You can keep up with all of the events at the Birdsell Mansion by visiting facebook.com/The Birdsell and see what’s next for The Bridge Project at facebook.com/TheBridge ProjectSB.

 

Justin Flagel is the founder of the web magazine and podcast Anywhere the Needle Drops, where he and others showcase their interest in music, pop culture, creativity and life. Follow their work at anywheretheneedledrops.com. Feedback can be directed to contact@anywheretheneedledrops.com.