Families filled the Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts on Friday night for a show put together by young people that featured artwork from teens and young adults across Gary and Northwest Indiana during Black History Month. Called Colors of Culture, the exhibition was created to give Black youth a place to show their […]
Culture
Posted inArts
Gary Civic Symphony Orchestra Enters a New Era Under a New Conductor
Silence swept the room as Lamar Grear, the Gary Civic Symphony Orchestra’s new conductor, walked onto the stage with his baton under his arm. His footsteps echoed as he took the podium, turned from the audience and opened his score, scanning the musicians before him. The house lights dimmed inside the Main Stage Theatre at […]
Posted inBusiness, Community Spotlight
Biscuits and Breaking Barriers: How J’s Breakfast Club Brings People Together
This story originally published Oct. 31, 2025 The restaurant was still. Midday light slipped through the windows of J’s Breakfast Club on 26th Avenue and Broadway Avenue. In the back office, Joslyn Kelly sat at her desk, as the soft rustle of her staff moving in and out of the kitchen carried through the restaurant. […]
Posted inCommunity Spotlight, Culture, Religion
One of Gary’s Oldest Churches Welcomes Its First Black Woman Pastor
Murmurs filled one of Gary’s oldest churches this week as members attended Bible study, tidied up, and completed their daily tasks. Pastor Nicole Guns walked around the area with a smile as clergy members asked questions and prepared for upcoming services. “I didn’t know much about Gary, Indiana, before coming, outside of Michael Jackson’s house […]
Posted inArts, Culture
Gary Film Festival Celebrates 15 Years of Storytelling and Pride
When Karen Toering first proposed hosting a film festival in Gary, she didn’t know who would be involved or how it would come together, but she knew she wanted to see one in her hometown. With no movie theater in the city, Toering wanted to create a space for residents to experience films and filmmakers […]
Posted inCommunity, History, Politics & Policy
Gary Renames Grant Street in Honor of Former Mayor Richard Hatcher
A partly cloudy sky Monday could do nothing to damper the beaming pride of a city as it honored one of its brightest stars, former Mayor Richard G. Hatcher, with a rechristening of Grant Street as Richard Gordon Hatcher Boulevard. Gary Mayor Eddie Melton — just the seventh mayor since Hatcher — recalled seeking the […]
Posted inArts, Events
2025 Gary International Black Film Festival Guide: House Party, Panels, and Food
The Gary International Black Film Festival returns for its 15th year Oct. 9-12 at Indiana University Northwest, bringing more than 40 films, panel discussions, and cultural events to the city. Continuing its tradition of bringing filmmakers to Gary, the festival will feature films from local, regional, and international filmmakers that tell stories across the diaspora. […]
Posted inCommunity, Culture
Gary’s Brown Family Ranch Comes Alive With Rodeo Spirit
Photos by Javonte Anderson, Capital B Gary Editor. The Brown Family Ranch in Gary came alive on a toasty September weekend as riders and families packed the gallery. Barrel racing, relay races, and flag racing carried the action well into the night. Away from the arena, quieter moments unfolded around the competition: a horse being […]
Posted inArts
Roosevelt Graduate Highlights Gary Through a New TV Series
When filmmaker TJ Chester graduated from Roosevelt High School, she knew she wanted to change how people looked at Gary. And for her, that was through a camera and a movie-maker clapperboard. “We have so many different creatives here in Gary, and none of us are being recognized for what we’re trying to do in […]
Posted inArts, Community, Culture, Events
Gary Honors Deniece ‘Songbird’ Williams With Mural on Broadway
Dozens gathered Thursday at the corner of 25th Avenue and Broadway as the city of Gary dedicated a new mural honoring hometown legend Deniece “Songbird” Williams, a four-time Grammy Award-winning singer and proud daughter of Gary. As DJs played her classics, from “Black Butterfly” to “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle,” local politicians took the stage […]