The historic neighborhood of Castleberry Hill played host to the Urban Regatta, a unique event merging art, creativity, and community service. Photo by Lentheus Chaney/The Atlanta Voice The historic neighborhood of Castleberry Hill recently played host to the Urban Regatta, a unique event merging art, creativity, and community service.In 2011, Bottle Rocket restaurant created this free event, which featured a variety of handmade boats built on bicycle frames and decorated in a variety of themes imagined by the competing crew.This year’s event was not just about the competition but also about fundraising and making a difference in the community.Toni Dillard, the operations director of STEAMsport Inc., a nonprofit organization, focuses on providing free STEAM programming in science, technology, engineering, art, and math for students in underserved communities.“We are located just a few blocks from the Castleberry Hill area. This is part of our service area,” Dillard said. “We became involved in the event because one of our board members, Wynn Pennington, is one of the organizers [of the Urban Regatta]. He’s always working closely with us to help with fundraising and exposure.”Photo by Lentheus Chaney/The Atlanta VoiceAccording to Wynn Pennington, who also serves as the president of the Castleberry Hill Athletic Club, events like the Urban Regatta and their goal of supporting the community are interconnected.“We wanted to have a beneficiary for all our work. We do events every month, and all the money raised is donated to the STEAMsport program,” Pennington said.The Urban Regatta featured 20 boats this year, and participation has grown each year, according to Pennington, who was dressed as Batman and piloted a Batmobile-inspired boat-bike.“If you’re not here this year, come out next year because this is a lot of fun. It’s a boat race with bicycles,” Pennington said. At the event, STEAMsport showcased various STEAM-related activities, including Oculus headsets for game design, Snap Circuits to teach kids about electricity, and other interactive demonstrations.“Our goal is to get kids interested and expose them. We hope that they stick with it and eventually pursue a STEAM career,” Dillard said. “They’re the highest-paying, the fastest-growing, and they’re not going anywhere.” It’s a billion-dollar industry, and a lot of our population is not aware.”Photo by Lenteus Chaney/The Atlanta VoiceDillard explained some of the organization’s initiatives, such as robotics competitions, underwater robotics, and drone coding classes. She also stressed that their program cost families nothing to participate in.“We partner with Georgia Tech and the Black Data Processing Association, focusing on technology for African Americans. We start with kids around age 9 and go up to high school,” Dillard said. “Parents may not be aware, or if they are, think they can’t afford it. All of our programs are free.”For more information or to support STEAMsport’s efforts, visit their website at https://steamsport.com/.The post STEAMsport, Inc.’s Urban Regata mixes education with industry appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.