This Juke Joint Was Jumpin’!

Even a Juke Joint Saturday Night party must come to an end sooner or later.

By Adelaja Obajimi

After a spectacular 14-year run, Prince George's Community College’s celebrated its final Jook Joint fundraiser on a snowy night in mid-February. This year’s event combined New Orleans-style food and fantastic 1920s dress as hundreds of party-goers filled the night with joy and dancing to the music and performances of the Jewels, Hardway Connection, Memphis Gold and PGCC’s own Dynasty Dance Crew.

Since 1996, PGCC has hosted the yearly event to raise funds for the college and celebrate music like it was done back in the 1920s, said Dr. Yvette Galloway, Dean of College Life Services. Galloway cited a lack of funding as one of the reasons why the event would not return next year. Although it seemed a little sad to know that this would be the last Juke Joint ever, the evening still sparkled with style and excitement.

To brighten up the already lovely mood of music and dance, the Jewels, a three-woman singing group, got the crowd on their feet dancing. Their voices were amazing. The Jewels claimed to have worked with the legendary James Brown and one of them even paid tribute to the Godfather of Soul by entertaining the audience with her rendition of his famous dance moves.

Also on hand to treat the guests to a wonderful night was PGCC’s own Dynasty Dance Crew, a new student choreography group led by Habeeba Serry. These girls looked dazzling in their flapper costumes and the guys looked just as good in their Fedoras and suspenders. Even better than the costumes was the performance they presented. For a just moment, time was suspended and the audience was transported back in the 1920s.

The highlight of the evening had to be the couple of party-goers who seemed to have a choreographed routine for every single song played. Thanks to them, there was not a single dull moment throughout the night. The party went on and everybody made the most of it - as if to say they were going to enjoy every last minute since this was the final Juke Joint.