New Aged Family (Friends) Reunion
Every summer, there were Black families across the country gathering at the park or in someone’s backyard for a family reunion. This is where you’d see the “grill master 3000s” (brown sandals), which are only given to those who are the best on the grill, the random “cousin walks”, lots of dancing, and music. Many reasons can play into the decline of the gatherings, but instead of focusing on what happened, there are six Milwaukee Black men, self-entitled Tha Guys, who decided to bring back the family reunion vibes.
Tha Guys include Luis Vasquez, Demecko Riley, Martin Triplett, Marquis Hazelwood, Jon Ragland, and Pairreon Warren.
Through brainstorming and wanting more options outside of Milwaukee’s nightlife, Tha Guys created Family and Friends Fest. This annual Milwaukee festival is a gathering for local adults to enjoy each other’s presence, like people once did at their family reunions.
“It wasn’t about the profit, it’s about the vibe [and] because it’s not about profit, it’s a little bit more freedom,” said Vasquez.
The second annual Family and Friends Fest will be held on August 24, 2025, at a Milwaukee park. To attend, locals purchased a shirt that comes with a QR code that provides clues leading up to the day of like the actual location of the event. The shirts also include name tags to make the attendees feel more familiar with one another. This type of marketing and engagement was intentional when it came to Tha Guys focusing on their attendees’ experience. All shirts are sold out.
Family and Friends Fest 2025 will feature a variety of activities, including a drunk kickball tournament, a tug-of-war competition, a “Best Tent” trophy, and a cookoff of wings and ribs, with six contestants and four judges.
Based on last year’s festival success, another sold-out event, local Black-owned businesses like 1700 Pull Up, Brownstone, The Lynq, and City Social reached out to be sponsors.
“We’re trying to make Milwaukee a ghost town on August 24,” said Vasquez. “This is just us genuinely wanting to have a dope experience.”
This year’s festival may feature a scavenger hunt and is a kid-free event.
6 Men, 1 Idea
Vasquez is a local entrepreneur and artist who occasionally works at the Milwaukee Downtown Black and woman-owned sportsbar Brownstone. He noticed Tuesdays were a slow day for the business, so he introduced the Tuesday Night Crew to boost the night. This inspired him to suggest an outing for his colleagues to connect beyond their usual bar hangouts, sparking the formation of Tha Guys, who began brainstorming ideas, starting grand, then scaling down as they built their community.
Tha Guys all knew of one another, but it wasn’t until they decided to join forces that they would become closer.
“Having more than one brain is just helpful,” said Riley. “It’s not just one vision, it’s six visions coming together in one big idea.”
Tha Guys talk daily and are constantly bouncing ideas off each other; some they plan to save for future Family and Friends Fests.
Riley exclusively shared with Carvd N Stone that Tha Guys are hosting a 2025 Halloween event. They will share details later in the year. Tha Guys also plan to host giveback events as they continue to grow.
“We’re doing it for them. It’s always for them, for the community,” said Riley. “For the people in our city.”
Nyesha Stone founded Carvd N Stone in 2017 to cover positive news while attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Stone has a B.A. in Journalism. She has raised over $30,000 to award grants and scholarships. She has also been featured in ESSENCE and worked with the American Black Film Festival.
