By: Anthony Bolton
On September 19, the Atlantic City Arts Foundation hosted the annual 48 Blocks Festival at Uptown and Fisherman’s Parks, with an emphasis on audience participation and live art demonstrations.
Named for the 48 blocks that Atlantic City spans, the festival carried the 2026 theme “Right on Time,” emphasizing the idea that trust and faith can lead people to where they need to be when they need to be there.
Throughout the festival grounds, there were spots reserved for guests to use their imagination to make art. Chalk was left at the ACAF booth for anyone to draw right on the street. A mural wall, overseen by Bernard DelaCruz, gave children the space to experiment with spray paint on a piece of cardboard.
Guests could also take Jitney mural tours across Atlantic City showcasing murals throughout the city.
Workshops throughout the festival gave guests the chance to participate in craft-making activities. The Noyes Museum of Art held a station dedicated to making “Cyanokites” with paper bags while learning about the process and history of the craft. “When Robots Tie Dye,” hosted by Whet Robots, helped participants learn different techniques and color patterns in tie-dyeing. RetrofutureUSA hosted a workshop based on making collages, providing materials from magazines, comics and books for participants to create their own.
Live art demonstrations gave visitors an opportunity to watch artists at work. Ian Diebert, an artist from Sandcreation, demonstrated the art of “SandForms” with a sculpture of a large head. Early in the festival, Victor Sandoval, a local artist, painted the 48 Blocks Festival mural live in Fisherman’s Park to demonstrate the art of aerosol spray painting. His work contributed to ACAF’s mural arts program. Murals throughout Atlantic City can be located through the foundation’s online mural map.
Among the musical guests performing during the event was Gina Roche, whose Tap into Joy performance in Fisherman’s Park blended brass and string instrumentals with her tap-dancing talents. Between songs, Roche emphasized that she learned the art of Shim Sham in her sixties starting in 2019, leaving little time for her to dedicate to practice sessions. Roche shared a lesson she had learned, telling the crowd, “I want this to be your new favorite word; I can’t do it… yet.” She joked that she would soon get the word tattooed to motivate her practice sessions.
Towards the end of her session, Roche invited audience members to step onto a wooden board and attempt to learn how to Shim Sham, encouraging others to find their nearest tap-dancing lessons and consider participating in learning a new talent. Two audience members came up to make their best attempt to follow the choreography with Roche.
Their willingness to step onto the board reflected the festival’s invitation for visitors to take part in creating art.
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This article was produced as part of Follow South Jersey’s student journalism program, which provides aspiring journalists with practical experience in professional news reporting and writing.
