Have you met our Neighbors?

Since Kerry McCoy moved Arkansas Flag and Banner to 9th St. in 1990, we have seen a resurgence of life and business here. 9th St. went from a thriving business district to a virtual ghost town thanks to "urban renewal" efforts by the city in the 1960s and ‘70s. When I was young, a few of the old brick buildings still stood up and down W. 9th. During the ‘90s most of these were condemned and torn down, so by the early 2000s, only the Mosaic Templars building and Taborian Hall still stood from the heyday of The Line.

Flag and Banner wasn’t the only business down here in the ‘90s, however. Arkansas Boxing Club has been on the corner of 8th and State for years and diagonally from there, Arkansas Graphics has operated since Kerry bought Taborian Hall. Other businesses have come and gone over the years. In 2008, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center (MTCC) opened on 9th and Broadway. A year later, Kerry founded Friends of Dreamland (FOD). At this point, several businesses with long term success operated in the area. MTCC and FOD both have a mission to clean up and advocate for the historic legacy of the district. This is when, I think, we really see things start to turn around down here. And most recently, Little Rock Hall opened opposite Taborian Hall and Dreamland Ballroom. We have been so grateful for this addition to 9th St. There’s nothing like music to breathe life back into a place working to reform its legacy.

The process for opening the Dreamland Ballroom to the public has been a long and often tedious one. But so much has splintered and broken off from the dedicated effort to revitalize this historic place. So, remember to…

What’s happening in 2023?

Construction, construction, and more construction! Like a broken record, we’re singing the same tune this year. Bids are in, submitted, and we are finally moving forward with the front of house restoration we’ve been talking about since late in 2021. Preservation is often hard and tedious work but worth every challenging set back or dull meeting. Remembering to be more grateful than frustrated is easy when working on such a worthy project. So stick with us this year and expect great things to come!

If you aren’t familiar with our restoration efforts, or need a refresher, you can find more information on the upcoming work here.

We still have more work to do! Join in support of the Dreamland Ballroom restoration effort by contributing to the Flagandbanner.com 2023 Corporate Matching Campaign. Donate any amount now here!

Pave the Way is ever ongoing! Get a brick with whatever you want inscribed on it to support the work of the Friends of Dreamland. That opportunity is here.

Keep dreaming,
Matthew S. McCoy

Another Great Dancing into Dreamland!

What a good time! Thank you to all the patrons and participants of Dancing into Dreamland 2023. Especially our sponsors, Mainstream Technologies, Centennial Bank, Zenith Law Group, Benton RV City, Kerry McCoy Enterprises, and all those individuals who bought tables in support of the Dreamland Ballroom restoration effort.

We want to see your pictures of the evening! Tag @dreamlandballroom on Facebook or @friendsofdreamland on Instagram. 

Congratulations to the evening's winning dance groups!
 

Judge’s Choice 
ASIAN INDIAN DANCERS
Sureehari Shankar, Madhu Prashanth, Anand Chandrasekharan, Rayma Ram, Archana Khole, and Supriya Jambhekar

People’s Choice
IRISH DANCERS
O’Donovan School of Irish Dance

Thanks again to everyone for another great event! See you next year!

Keep dreaming, 

WHY THIS PLACE MATTERS

Taborian Hall, the stately three-story building that now-a-days houses the Dreamland Ballroom and Arkansas Flagandbanner.com, has been a fixture in downtown Little Rock for over a century. Its history is steeped in the well-known struggle black Americans experienced in the Jim Crow south and Civil Right Movement of the 20th century. But even more so, Taborian is a standing testament to Arkansas’ version of “Harlem” or “Black Wall Street.”. W. 9th St. was the state’s major center for commerce and entertainment for the black community during the late 19th century and early to mid-20th. Built by the Knights and Daughters of Tabor as their international headquarters, the building was the most expensive one constructed in Little Rock in 1918. From then through the 1970s Taborian provided retail shops, restaurant fronts, professional office space, a place for community organization, and R&R for WWI and WWII officers. As well as hosting legendary musicians, travelling comedians, dance troupes, and a myriad of local acts. Taborian Hall weathered the devastating effects of Urban Renewal in the 1960s and ‘70s and 11 years of vacancy before Kerry McCoy and the Friend of Dreamland began their restoration effort in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Explore the links below to learn more about the history of the one-of-kind structure and why we have spent over 30 years restoring is beauty and legacy.

The History of W. 9th St.

The History of Taborian Hall

The Legacy of the Dreamland Ballroom

Kerry’s McCoy Love Affair with Taborian and Dreamland

Excerpts from “Temple of Dreams” by Berna Love

This giving season, we hope you will remember the Friends of Dreamland when making your end-of-year contributions. The history of your city is worth preserving, investing in your community is important, and a gift to the Friends of Dreamland can accomplish both!

There are many ways to donate!

Dancing into Dreamland 2023 – Make Feb. 11th a very special Valentines Date!

Corporate Matching Campaign – Get your contribution in before the end of the year!

Pave the Way – a great holiday gift!

General Fund – Give any amount!

Keep Dreaming, Matthew McCoy

Juneteenth 2022, what a weekend!

If you were downtown on the weekend of Juneteenth (June 18th & 19th), you may have seen the absolute outpour of activity all over our capitol city. Here on 9th St, Juneteenth in DA ROCK kicked off with its first 5K and what a success! Congratulations to all the runners who came out on that hot Saturday morning. The Friends of Dreamland were happy to provide some hydration to the 5K participants and y’all were delightfully curious about our mission and work. Thank you to our board members who volunteered to help facilitate tours of the Dreamland Ballroom throughout the Juneteenth celebration. And, of course, to all those who took the time to view this historic space. Your passion and generosity are inspiring!

What a weekend to be an Arkansan in the Little Rock area. 9th Street wasn’t the only hot spot in town. Pride celebrations on Main St. and a Juneteenth Parade on Broadway were also seminal features of the weekend’s freedom celebrations. We are so grateful for this incredible community!

Contact me to find out how you can volunteer, contribute, or learn more about the historic Dreamland Ballroom and the Friends of Dreamland. We already can’t wait for June 2023!

Keep Dreaming, Matthew McCoy

Maintaining Dreamland’s Character

As we move into the third phase of construction here at the Dreamland Ballroom, we have a lot to consider. This phase includes some of the largest historic restoration projects we’ve ever done in Dreamland, aside from Kerry McCoy’s complete renovation back in the early 1990s. The granted work this round will focus on big structural components primarily while including some smaller, mostly cosmetic, details as well.

Something folks on my tours often like to hear is our philosophy around the restoration effort. Our goal with any project in Dreamland is to “freeze it in time.” What I mean by this is to capture and/or maintain the current aesthetic and feel of the room. It’s crumbling plaster, chipped paint, exposed brick and lathe, graffiti, and general wear and tear. Not to say we won’t update where we must or reimagine certain elements as they were or may have been. Our goal is for the ballroom to tell the “full story” all on its own. The tale of its grandeur and its decline, it’s this complete, honest representation that gives the space its characteristic charisma. 

Keep Dreaming, Matthew McCoy

Juneteenth 2022 in one month!

Celebrate Juneteenth on 9th St. with Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at Juneteenth in Da Rock! Their celebration is on June 18th and will include all the usual excitement we’ve come to expect over the last decade. Food trucks, vendors, kids’ zone, plus live music, and entertainment. This year, MTCC will be partnering with the Little Rock Marathon for a Juneteenth 5K Walk/Run (registration required). More information on the event can be found on MTCC website and Facebook event page.

The Friends of Dreamland will setup a booth at the end of the 5K, in front of the new addition to Taborian Hall. We’ll be offering refreshments to 5K participants, tours to event attendees, and information about our organization.

Though Little Rock has been celebrating Juneteenth for years now, last year this holiday was made an official federal holiday. So, I think we can expect great things from this years celebration! Come celebrate freedom on 9th St with FOD, Mosaic Templars, and all of Arkansas this June and…

Keep Dreaming, Matthew McCoy