INDIANAPOLIS — Mayor Hogsett honored DJ culture with a proclamation that recognizes the storied legacy of music in Indianapolis. The day of observation is officially known as: The Blend — Mixing Culture Day.

The celebratory day falls on Aug. 11 and is also the same day as the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop.

“Our ‘Naptown’ style of mixing tracks and beats come from local DJs who have served our Indianapolis community as frontline representatives, spokespersons, and event MCs for everything from community service projects, sporting events, government programs, and as guiding voices in times of tragedy and triumph,” as stated in the proclamation.

Donte Moore, also known as DJ Long Green, was instrumental in the creation of this holiday. “It’s really my mission to drive home the point that what we do is an art, what we do has great significance and it is a beautiful piece of culture that we should be proud of and stand on,” said Moore. “Not only do we recognize it as being something important, but now the city stands on it with us.”

Moore, who has been a professional DJ for the past ten years in Indianapolis, started learning the craft in the late 1990’s and said the process of hip-hop has evolved in the Circle City. “A lot of markets blend records just to transition to the next song but with our market, it becomes a little bit different because we blend our records with the intention of making new sounds, with the intention of giving you a new sonically pleasing composition.”

The proclamation described, “Indianapolis has built an impressive DJ industry, generating revenue, developing Hoosier talent, and spreading into other industries in Indiana. Today we recognize the cultural relevance of the ‘blend’ as we celebrate the long lineage of Indianapolis DJs who have helped to create our local culture.”

The celebration of the historic milestone will continue in Washington Park with the first Naptown DJ Fest on Saturday, Aug. 12 from noon – 6 p.m. “We just wanted to capture the moment and have something, hopefully this year will give us enough to feel confident to grow the event and do much bigger and better things in the future.”

The Naptown DJ Fest will feature food trucks, shopping vendors, education about the history of DJ culture in Indianapolis, how-to sessions, and live performances.

“I believe this is an opportunity to now grow culture. I hope this moment inspires other people with similar passions to take charge and connect more dots,” said Moore. “My motto is ‘community x unity = community’ and this is an opportunity for significant building.”