Heart of Midtown, An Annual Festival Fusing Mental Health Resources & Music

Tragedy is often the catalyst for tireless advocacy and altruism. And there may be no better example of this locally than The Heart of Midtown: Go All In for Mental Health Music Festival, which returns for its second annual edition in Kingston on September 7 from 12 to 8 p.m.

The festival is the brainchild of the Flood family, owners of Rewind Kingston, a curated vintage thrift store and bookshop on Broadway featuring a unique local history exhibition room. Joanne, Kevin, Karlie, Jake, and Sydney created The Heart of Midtown in memory of their 19-year-old daughter/sister, Cassidy, who lost her mental health battle in 2020.  After witnessing the gap in the mental health system and meeting so many people at Rewind who had so many supportive organizations, Joanne Flood wanted to get all these resources in one place. 

“When you are well, you can research and reach out for mental health support,” she says. “But when you are in a crisis. It’s tough to find the resources you need.”

To help their community find these resources, they created Heart of Midtown: a street festival combining a day of music, art workshops, information, and resources dedicated to helping people cope with mental health issues, especially teens and young adults. The second annual Heart of Midtown is being produced with the support of the nonprofit United We Om and Keep GoodCompany Records, along with a multitude of local businesses and nonprofits. These include Radio Kingston, People USA, Herzog’s True Value Home Center, Kingston Plaza, the Midtown Business Association, MyKingstonKids, Westkill Supply, Giving Tree Counseling, The Maya Gold Foundation, The Ulster Country Department of Mental Health, Bardavon Presents, Jane’s Ice Cream, Kingston Tattoo Company, and many more.

“Since 2021, we have held three community cold plunge events in memory of Cassidy, which raised over $30,000 for organizations like United We Om and the Maya Gold Foundation,” says Karlie Flood. “The Heart of Midtown was designed to execute this kind of fundraising and informational effort on a much grander scale.” She continues: “The Heart of Midtown is a full-day street festival dedicated to mental health, featuring various activities that will not only entertain and disseminate vital information about mental health. We will have live music from ten of our favorite artists, art workshops, free zines with important mental health strategies and resources, gardening kits, free ice cream, flash tattoos, flower bouquet workshops, pickleball demos and lessons, therapists, poetry, a dunk tank to raise money for local organizations, and many other activities to engage our community.”

“We believe it’s critical to create a supportive community for our young people,” adds Sydney Flood, “to let them know they are not alone in their struggles and that there are mental health programs and resources locally they can turn to.”

While last year’s festival unfolded during a literal monsoon, it still drew a strong turnout due to its combination of entertainment, arts, sports, and mental health information and services. Last year, WE featured incredible performers like Al Olender, Wormy, and Girls Wish. This year’s event will occur on Field Court, the dead end across the street from Ulster Performing Arts Center UPAC, adjacent to West Kill Supply,

“We believe it’s critical to create a supportive community for our young people,” adds Sydney Flood, “to let them know they are not alone in their struggles and that there are mental health programs and resources locally they can turn to.”

Karlie says “Kismet” brought the Floods to meet and collaborate on a song with the much-buzzed-about singer-songwriter Ginger Winn.  The heartfelt tune, called “Every Time It Rains,” (see lyrics below) will have its debut performance at The Heart of Midtown. As profiled in this August 7 feature on INSIDE+OUT Upstate New York, Winn is a dynamic young singer-songwriter who cut her critically acclaimed debut album, “Stop-Motion,” in the Hudson Valley with superstar producer David Baron.  “We were friends with Ginger’s videographer Brooklyn Zeh and went to see her perform at Rough Draft in Kingston at her suggestion,” adds Karlie Flood.  “Ginger performed her entire album solo, and we were blown away.  Her lyrics and music were so much about our feelings, so we immediately invited her to headline the festival.”

“Both my sister and I have been writing about Cassidy as a way to channel our grief, as a form of therapy,” says festival organizer Karlie Flood, referring to her sister Sydney, an English major at Fordham University. After meeting with the founder of Keep Good Company Records, Tina and Matt Baione to book Ginger to perform, Tina told us she wanted Ginger and her husband Matt—who was also a poet/lyricist, on the songs on Ginger’s debut album—to create a song from our poetry for Ginger to play at the festival.

“There have been some mental health issues in my family, so I related to Karlie and Sydney’s words and emotions,” adds Winn. “It is great to be headlining a festival that is so positive, uplifting, and nourishing, especially for young people in need of support.”

“Ginger is amazing,” adds Sydney Flood. “We had coffee, talked for a few hours, and within three hours of parting ways, she sent us back a fully produced song, which she crafted on her laptop while staying in an Airstream at Autocamp.” Winn’s involvement spurred further support and creative input from her record label, Keep Good Company Records, the event co-sponsor. “This kind of event hit our sweet spot – a grassroots hyper-local campaign addressing an issue of great importance,” says Matthew Baione, a 9/11 victims attorney advocate by day/lyricist and record company head by night. “Just like Ginger, we immediately jumped into action to help support and expand the festival’s scope.” 

The Baiones have provided financial backing for the festival and creative resources to help design some of the merchandise that will be sold to benefit mental health charities. “My wife, Tina, is my business partner in Keep Good Company; she also discovered Ginger,” adds Matthew Baione. “She used her branding and fashion background to work closely with the Floods on designs for some of the merchandise that will be given gratis and sold to raise charity funds.”

The Heart of Midtown: Go All In for Mental Health Music Festival
Kingston NY |  September 7 from 12 to 8 p.m.

The expansive “self-care kits” given free to the first 300 attendees will be the most coveted swag featured at the festival. The kits will come in a red tote bag donated by Keep Good Company Records, designed by Tina Baione, and decorated with lyrics from “Every Time It Rains.” The bags include a blank journal, postcards with helpful information on local mental health resources, an almanac calendar donated by Hudson Valley One, a variety of community resources, stickers, and the Floods’ recommendations of songs, books, and apps to help teens and young adults cope with a mental health crisis.

Physical activity is a well-documented way to counter depressive moods, and the Floods are “all-in” on pickleball. The City of Kingston has allowed the organizers to paint a pickleball court on the street at the festival site, where patrons can get lessons and engage in 15-minute games and lessons. The courts are open to the public for free lessons on Wednesdays from 6 – 8 p.m.  

Other workshops and activities will include the Blackout Poetry Workshop with Logan Robinson, an educational/tasting event about “anti-anxiety” teas with herbalist Jennifer Flood-Tardino, Flowers for a Friend Bouquet Making Workshop with Adelaar Farms, screen printing with Catskill Postcards, a sound and movement workshop with Definitely Human Theater, gaming and role play exercise with World’s End Comics, spin art donated by Kingston Ceramics Studio, mixed media journaling with United We Om, a free photo booth, a gardening workshop and “Transforming Your Space for a Healthier You” by interior designer Brooke Lane.  To cool down from all the activity, attendees can get free Jane’s ice cream.  For a more permanent souvenir of the experience, you can get a “flash tattoo” from Kingston Tattoo Company for a donation to the charities.

Proceeds from selling other branded merchandise, including Heart of Midtown and Go All In for the Plunge t-shirts, sweatshirts, and t-shirts featuring lyrics from Ginger Winn’s songs, branded binoculars, and more, will also support the benefiting charities.

“Even though she is not physically here, Cassidy is still present in our daily lives,” says Karlie Flood. “Her loss has helped energize not only us but so many other individuals and organizations who can be there before and in times of crisis for those in our community facing mental health issues. We think Cassidy would be very proud of that.”

‘In a high school project, she said: ‘I want to be remembered as a good, kind-hearted person who helped others.  I want to impact the lives of those I care about and maybe even those I do not know.’

She sure is doing it.”

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Lyrics to EVERY TIME IT RAINS

Verse 1

Not here but still around

Beating strong down in midtown

How do you survive if you cannot live?

How do you love if you cannot forgive?

Don’t you wanna see

The corners of my mind

Walk around my brain until you

Hate what you find

Stuck in a labyrinth

Of things I’ve never said

I love you, I hate you,

And all my loose ends

Sometimes it’s hard to not

Let your head wander

When you do all you can

You still fall under

And as I get older

I still throw a fit

Realizing all the things

You made me miss

Chorus

I used to look at you

And think of all that I have

Now I look at you

And see all that was in my hands

Verse 2

When I am lucky I see you in signs

Chance happenings that don’t make sense otherwise

But in the end I suppose everything goes back

To all that was and all that could have been

I tell myself you are still here in the end

I don’t care if it’s pretend

Chorus

I used to look at you

And think of all that I have

Now I look at you

And see all that was in my hands

My heart is full of graves

And ode to those I couldn’t save

I still see your reflection

In the pavement every time it rains

I still see your face

Every time it rains

Bridge

I can’t get rid of any trace of you

There was so much that I never knew

I read your old diaries, I studied your dreams

Don’t think i’ll ever accept this

So in twenty years, when I have kids

That want cool vintage clothes

I’ll give them yours

Pass them off as my own

Chorus

I used to look at you

And think of all that I have

Now I look at you

And see all that was in my hands

My heart is full of graves

And ode to those I couldn’t save

I still see your reflection

In the pavement every time it rains

I still see your face

Every time it rains

Sal Cataldi is a musician, writer, and former entertainment publicist living in Saugerties.
Photos courtesy of The Flood Family and Ginger Winn