Elegba Folklore Society

New Art Exhibit: For the Culture -The Paintings of Julian Greene
2018-03-02 17:00 - 2018-05-25 21:00 (America/New_York) | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Elegba Folklore Society, Richmond’s Cultural Ambassador, will feature new work in its cultural center March 2 through May 25. Painter, Julian Greene will exhibit his art in an exhibition entitled For the Culture. Says Greene, “I paint and draw depictions of the African American experience. My work consists mainly of elongated, exaggerated figures reminiscent of celebrated artist, Ernie Barnes, along with the cubism and abstract features heavily influenced by master painter, Pablo Picasso.” The show’s intention is to inspire viewers, especially youth, with strong visual representations of their heritage and cultural expressions. Julian Greene lives in Richmond.
Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center is located at 101 E Broad St in the downtown RVA Arts District. The opening reception begins at 5p in association with the 1st Fridays Artwalk. Regular hours are Noon – 6p, Tuesday through Friday, Noon – 5p, Saturdays, and by appointment.

What Is Africa To Me? | Community Study Group
2018-02-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
What Is Africa To Me? Community Study Group, 7p
Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad Street Free.
Explore and discuss history, culture and contemporary affairs throughout the African Diaspora with former Virginia State University professor, Neil Holmes, political scientist and historian.

3rd Saturday Documentaries | 1804: The Hidden History of Haiti
2018-02-17 17:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
3rd Saturday Documentaries
1804: The Hidden History of Haiti, 5p
Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad Street Donations Accepted. Refreshments Available.
Another work by filmmaker Tariq Nasheed, producer of the African history documentary series Hidden Colors. 1804 reveals untold history of Haiti and the Haitian Revolution. Called the most successful rebellion of enslaved Africans in history, the film details the history of Haiti and explores reasons for its current state. Be inspired by the perseverance of the Haitian people.

Rejuvenate!
2018-02-10 11:30 - 15:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Rejuvenate!
Dominion Arts Center, 600 E Grace Street Classes are $5 each.
Three classes will be offered in this program designed to unite mind, body and spirit. A yoga class with yoga master Jonathon Miles begins at 11:30a.
Senegalese master artist Malang Bayo and Elegba Folklore Society’s artists will teach African dance and drumming classes. The drum classes begins at 12:30p and the dance classes at 1:30p. Open to all, ages 6 to 86! Company auditions will be held following the dance class. Those interested should contact the Society’s artistic director, Janine Bell at 804.644.3900 or jaybee@efsinc.org.

African Dance, Music & the Oral Tradition - A Celebratory Concert
2018-02-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Henrico Theatre, 305 E 9 Mile Rd, Highland Springs, VA, 23075, United States
African Dance, Music & the Oral Tradition A Celebratory Concert, 7p
Henrico Theatre, 305 E Nine Mile Road Free.
Elegba Folklore Society’s performers will present African dance and music from the Manding cosmology of West Africa in an interactive concert spiced with folktales and historical reflection. Families are invited to attend.

Women’s Resilience Circle, Noon - 2p
2018-02-03 12:00 - 14:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Women’s Resilience Circle, Noon – 2p
Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad Street Free.
Women ages 50+ and women resetting their lives are invited to find support while exploring relationships, reflecting on life experiences and along the path toward personal fulfillment.

Open House & Artist Talk, 5p - 9p
2018-02-02 17:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Open House & Artist Talk, 5p – 9p
Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad Street Free, refreshments.
Cheryl Clayton’s paintings are featured in an exhibition entitled Revision, on view through February 23, 2018. Ms.Clayton will discuss her painterly technique and the socio-cultural messages embedded in her work.

2017 Capital City Kwanzaa Festival
2017-12-30 14:00 - 21:00 | Dewey Gottwald Center, 2301 West Leigh St., Richmond, VA, 23220, United States
Capital City Kwanzaa Festival December 30, 2017

Capital City Kwanzaa Festival presents performances, workshops, children’s activities, The African Market, food and more observe the year’s-end Kwanzaa holiday, a cultural affirmation of values, thanksgiving and growth. This event is the largest of its kind in Virginia, and therefore, one of the largest on the East Coast. Elegba Folklore Society’s Artistic Director first produced a Kwanzaa program in Richmond in 1986 and the Society first presented its festival in 1990. (Annually during the December Kwanzaa Holiday)
2017 Capital City Kwanzaa Festival Details
Interested in Vending for 2017 Click Here

CONTACT US

The Talking Drum, A Spoken Word & Music Concert
2017-10-21 12:00 - 17:00 | Meadow Farm Park, 3400 Mountain Road, Glen Allen, VA, 23060, United States
You are invited! Elegba Folklore Society’s performers will present The Talking Drum.
The drum is a legendary communications tool — a punctuating teller of life as it happens. This lively delivery of African and African American folktales and narratives combine with vocal and instrumental music to engage audiences along a rhythmic journey over continents and through time.
Audience Comments:
“Absolutely fantastic!”
“Kept everyone’s attention.”
“The delivery brought out stories audience members had to tell. Everybody felt good.”

Maasai! Indulge in Culture and Crafts
2017-10-12 19:00 - 21:00
Visit Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center to interact with people from the Maasai ethnic group in Kenya. The Village Chief and premier beadworkers will be here to share cultural traditions and the most amazing beaded jewelry and decor. Make something. Collect something for yourself and consider your holiday gift list.

2nd Street Festival -- Adjacent -- Open House
2017-10-07 12:00 - 20:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
What does music+food+framed art prints & more = ? Ultimate indulgence! And it’s waiting for you in the downtown Arts District at Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center. Stop in to browse, buy and enjoy.

First Fridays ArtWalk @ Elegba Folklore Society
2017-10-06 17:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Join Elegba Folklore Society for for The Black Art Market, an exhibition of beautifully matted and framed prints by a variety of contemporary artists that express culture, now through November 24. You may find just the piece that resonates with you. It may even also match the sofa. Plus, of course, you can enjoy paintings, memorabilia, artifacts, imports, collectibles, home decor, wearables, books, jewelry, shea and cocoa butters, black soap, oils, incense, more, and good vibrations.

The Black Art Market
2017-09-01 08:00 - 2017-11-24 17:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
NEW ART AT ELEGBA FOLKLORE SOCIETY
“The Black Art Market”
Framed Prints Express Culture
Various Contemporary Artists
September 1 – November 24

Have you been looking for art to accent your home and office? Art that is reflective of who you are and your heritage? It may even also match the sofa. It will certainly match your spirit. Stop in at Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad Street in Richmond’s downtown Arts District, to take in a selection of beautifully matted and framed prints that express culture.

Browse and buy expressions of diverse thematics that are priced especially for The Black Art Market. Some are limited editions. All hold keys to our story and your delight. One — or more — can be yours. If you are planning ahead for the holidays, think about art as an endearing gift. This collection also features traditional and contemporary African art for your consideration.

Plus, of course, you can enjoy paintings, memorabilia, artifacts, imports, collectibles, home decor, wearables, books, jewelry, shea and cocoa butters, black soap, oils, incense, more, and good vibrations.

27th Annual Down Home Family Reunion, A Celebration of African American Folklife
2017-08-19 04:00 - 23:00 | Abner Clay Park, Brook Road and West Clay Street, Richmond, 23219, United States
27th Annual Down Home Family Reunion, A Celebration of African American Folklife August 19, 2017

Choose to sit in the Gold Circle

Down Home Family Reunion, A Celebration of African American Folklife is a downtown weekend festival that celebrates African American folklife with world music and dance, the Heritage Market, special children’s events, interactive site demonstrations and delicious down home food. It is designed to show aspects of West African cultural traditions that are African American and that have been absorbed by the American South. This is one of the Society’s original programs created in 1990.
27th Annual Down Home Family Reunion Details
2017 Merchandise Vendor Application
2017 Food Vendor Application
2017 Talented Youth Inquiry
27TH ANNUAL DOWN HOME FAMILY REUNION SEEKS TO PRESENT TALENTED YOUTH The festival’s Annie Tyler New School Pavilion is a popular haven for our children. Rev. Tyler loved children and worked lovingly with Elegba Folklore Society to create quality cultural experiences for them until her death. May the good she did last forever. Cultural craft making teaches lessons, games ensure fun and the stage showcases talented youth. Please contact us if you are interested in arranging a performance!
2017 Share Your Community Service
SHARE YOUR COMMUNITY SERVICE AT 27TH ANNUAL DOWN HOME FAMILY REUNION If your community-based organization provides a community service you want people to know about, you may want to tell them from a table in the festival’s Waverly Crawley Community Row. Waverly Crawley was a fixture in Richmond’s Historic Jackson Ward, the festival’s location. He constantly encouraged people to get involved in the community to make it better. He wanted people to know that they could make a difference. Please contact us if you are interested in a table. May the good he did last forever.
2017 Small Business Exhibitors
Small Business Owners! You are invited to the 27th Annual Down Home Family Reunion! This Celebration of African American Folklife will happen on Saturday, August 19, 2017, 4p – 11p in Richmond, Virginia!
Join Us in the SmartMart
• Display and tell your story
• Interact with and distribute materials to festival attendees
• Be highlighted in one prize drawing from the Main Stage!
How You Benefit Fast-track the promotions of your products/services to Richmonders and visitors by distributing product samples and prize drawings. Reinforce your marketing and public relations campaigns by distributing your flyers, discount coupons, business cards, surveys and other promotional materials.
Enhance your product or service image in the Richmond business picture. Be highlighted among your peers and in the community in our covered SmartMart business tent. One table, two chairs and signage will be provided. Demonstrate your commitment to civic/social vitality. Be highlighted in one prize drawing from the Main Stage. This festival connects aspects of West African traditions with those of African Americans through the ambience of a family gathering. The festival’s location is Abner Clay Park, located downtown in Historic Jackson Ward.
World music and dance headline the Down Home Family Reunion along with site demonstrations and children’s programs. This event couples history with its contemporary significance. With an expected attendance of 13,000 the festival includes a SmartMart with you in mind.
Parking
The 27th Annual Down Home Family Reunion is grateful to offer parking for the festival in the lots at Belvidere and Leigh Streets, Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church and the lots across from the church. Signage will help direct patrons to these locations.

CONTACT US

2017 Juneteenth, A Freedom Celebration
2017-06-16 19:00 - 22:00 | Martin Luther King, Jr Middle School, 1000 Mosby St, Richmond, VA, 23223
Juneteenth 2017, A Freedom Celebration
Independence Day Our Way
The Symposium
Friday, June 16 • 7p – 10p
Martin Luther King, Jr Middle School *
1000 Mosby St, Richmond, VA 23223
Adv. 1 @ $13, 2 @ $24
Door. 1 @ $15, 2 @ $28

Internationally respected cultural historian and Egyptologist, Anthony T. Browder will keynote The Symposium. His topic, Africans in America and the Paradox of Liberty, will ponder the self-determination of Africans in America (African Americans), historically, the influences of Thomas Jefferson plus archeological discoveries in Kemet that help reconnect a cultural circle of life. Accordingly, he will demonstrate an historical and genetic connection between Africans along the Nile, Niger, Mississippi, Potomac and James Rivers.
*Martin Luther King, Jr Middle School
This brand new school’s location is adjacent to Mosby Court, a public housing complex that has been plagued with violence that is deeply rooted in the self-hate that stems from the cultural disarray of historical trauma. Let’s make this location an asset via cultural references, King quotes, historical contexts and the like. Let’s discuss.
Juneteenth Backyard Party
Saturday, June 17 • 1p – 6p
Manchester Dock
1308 Brander St, Richmond, VA 23224
Free
Come with your family to an independence day celebration like no other. Enjoy music spiced with history and good food, the Get Woke Youth Summit on cultural education*, heritage crafts for the children, good food, jump rope and hoola hoop contests, African dance and drum workshops, good food, experiences on the Trail of Enslaved Africans, shopping in the Freedom Market, good food and Elegba Folklore Society’s performing company. Juneteenth Freedom Day. Independence Day Our Way.
*Get Woke Youth Summit on cultural education Let’s recruit attendees
Theme/Purpose: Youth must develop a respect for their cultural history. Cultural veneration or reverence for ones culture is important to the development of self-edification and self-love.
“The ultimate function of education is to secure the survival of a people…” — Amos Wilson
Gratitude
Sunday, June 18 • 4p – 6p
African Burial Ground
16th & Broad Streets, Richmond, VA 23219
Free
Let the rituals of the Motherland refresh you and open spirit as we say “thank you” to our ancestors. We pay homage in ceremony, drumming and song.
Bring an offering for the altar. Wear white or African attire as you have it.

Join Elegba Folklore Society's performers at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
2017-06-10 11:15 | Virginia Museum of Fine Arts – Cheek Theater, 200 North Blvd, Richmond, VA, 23220, United States
Elegba Folklore Society’s performers will appear at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday, June 10 in a concert called African Accents. The performance will interweave the day’s theme to celebrate African and African American Art through Adornment. Showtimes: 11:15a and 12:15p.

New Art Exhibit: Memories Of The Motherland at Elegba Folklore Society
2017-05-05 17:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States

Black History Book Expo
2017-02-26 14:00 - 19:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Visit Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 East Broad Street in the downtown Richmond Arts District for the Black History Book Expo, Sunday, February 26, 2p – 7p. Admission is free.

Elegba Folklore Society is collaborating with United Brothers and United Sisters Communications Systems to present the Black History Book Expo. Come, browse and buy from a vast display of literature featuring topics including black history, politics, science, African Diasporic culture, novels and children’s books.
Celebrity Guest Authors will make presentations at the Black History Book Expo.Jabari Osaze is co-founder of the Center for the Restoration of Ma’at in New York City, Epyptologist, leader of international study groups and author of Seven Little White Lies: The Conspiracy to Destroy the Black Self-Image. Herb Powell is a musician who resides in Los Angeles, a music lover, interviewer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and author of Maurice White: My Life with Earth, Wind and Fire.Ronnie Nelson Sidney II, MSW, is a therapist, entrepreneur, speaker, author, app developer and workshop presenter. He is the owner of Creative Medicine: Healing Through Words, LLC and the author of Nelson Beats the Odds and Tameka’s New Dress, among others, to upfront children overcoming challenges they face such as bullying, abuse at home and learning disabilities.
Independent writers of books for adults and children will also speak, and others will be represented in the books available at the Expo. And, of course, you can expect to find the classics that belong in every home library!
Stop in for live music and refreshments, too!
Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center
Downtown in the RVA Arts District
101 East Broad Street (corner of 1st & Broad)
804.644.3900

Notable Richmond-based jazz musicians, together as Sketches, add “flava” during day 1 of Malcolm X Day Black Book Expo at Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center in the downtown RVA Arts District. 5/18/13

Writer’s Den Poetry Slam
2017-02-22 07:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Join the Writer’s Den for the popular monthly Poetry Slam held at Elegba Folklore Society’s
Cultural Center, 101 East Broad Street. Doors open at 7p. Masterful spoken word artists will share their thoughts poetically for those gathered. Any attendee may sign up to present.
Refreshments will be served.

Elegba Folklore Society Presents Performing Arts Workshops
2017-02-12 14:00 - 17:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Join Elegba Folklore Society’s African dancers and drummers in two special workshops,
Feel the Beat, on Sunday, February 12, in the Dominion Arts Center, 600 E. Grace Street, downtown in Richmond, Virginia. Tickets are $5 for each session.
Feel the Beat – West African Drum begins at 2p. Participants will put their hands on the skin and immerse themselves in the body-mind-spirit of the experience. Enjoy drumming, learn percussion technique and cultural traditions, feel good inside and out! The focus is the djembe orchestra of the Manding.
Feel the Beat – West African Dance begins at 3:15p. Participants will throw off their shoes and socks and immerse themselves inside the rhythm of the drum. Enjoy dancing, while learning dance technique and cultural traditions. The workshop will be led by a dancer/folklorist and drummers. Students should wear loose-filng clothing, and be prepared to dance in bare feet.

Elegba Folklore Society Presents: "African Dance, Music & the Oral Tradition" at Henrico Theatre
2017-02-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Henrico Theatre, 305 E 9 Mile Rd, Highland Springs, VA, 23075, United States
Elegba Folklore Society’s African dancers, musicians, singers and masquerade will present a concert, African Dance, Music & the Oral Tradi7on on Saturday, February 11, 7p in the Henrico Theatre, 305 E. Nine Mile Road, Highland Springs, Virginia. Admission is free.
This performance celebrates the rich culture and arts of the West African Manding cosmology
as showcased through the djembe orchestra with melodic balafon and kora instrumentation all integrated into choreographed stories about life that influence and relate universally. The masquerade highlights the concert and invokes its spirit. Interaction with the audience, as if in the village, will define the presentation that is open to all ages.

New Art Exhibit: Obscura at Elegba Folklore Society
2017-02-03 17:00 - 2017-04-30 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Growth 18 by 24 on Water Color Paper Pen, pencil and color pencil
Nicole Wandera’s paintings, a collection called Obscura, will open on Friday, February 3 in Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 East Broad Street, in a reception from 5p – 9p. Obscura runs through April 30, 2017.
From the Latin word for darkness, this exhibition lifts the veil oﬀ the superficial to reveal inner expressions of self. The portrayals, collectively, answer Wandera’s question, “Who are we and what part of ourselves do we allow others to see?” What the artist shows, through the subtle densities of pen, pencil and color pencil, is the interplay of internal energy fields, the environment of the “true self.”
Nicole Wandara, born in Nairobi, is a student in Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, after some study at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute. She has exhibited at the World Bank and at Raw Artists, Brooklyn.
She says, “I believe creativity is like breathing, it is a constantly evolving dialogue with the universe. I channel its energy to help create my own visual stories. These stories tell of my experiences, what I have learned, and how the people I have met have influenced my life. I use art as a platform to discuss the controversial issues that plague our society, such as gender, race, human rights and our disintegrating environment. My goal is to reach into your mind , change your perspective and hopefully inspire you.”

New Art Exhibit: Obscura to Open at Elegba Folklore Society
2017-02-03 17:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States

2016 Capital City Kwanzaa Festival
2016-12-30 17:00 - 23:00 | Altria Theater, 6 N Laurel St, Richmond, 23220, United States
2016 CAPITAL CITY KWANZAA FESTIVAL DECEMBER 30
AT THE ALTRIA THEATER
CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVESARY OF KWANZAA
Richmond, VA • Elegba Folklore Society, Richmond’s Cultural Ambassador, presents the 2016 Capital City Kwanzaa Festival on Friday, December 30, 5:00 p.m. – 11:00pm, returning this year to The Altria Theater, 6 N. Laurel Street, Richmond, Virginia. Newly renovated and named, this venue was formerly known as the Landmark Theater.
The 2016 Capital City Kwanzaa Festival presents a carefully planned series of events that please the palette of attendees and capture the spirit and the significance of the Kwanzaa holiday, created by Dr. Maulana Karenga, now in its 50th year.
The festival’s main stage is alive with music, dance and message presented to strengthen families and galvanize the community. The African Market will be open with food and shopping. There will be children’s events, workshops and more in this nationally recognized, regionally attended observance of the Kwanzaa (quahn-zah) holiday. The
Capital City Kwanzaa Festival is one of the largest Kwanzaa celebrations on the east coast. The festival pays homage to the 50th Anniversary of the holiday and Dr. Karenga’s message, “…Repairing, Renewing and Remaking our World.”
The Ancestral Libation and Candle Lighting Ceremony set the tone for the day. Attendees are invited to come and experience the Kwanzaa holiday right from the start. To observe this Pan-African holiday of unity, strength, clarity and solidarity based on reconnection with our essential African value systems, the 2016 Capital City Kwanzaa
Festival’s thematic focus is based on philosophy foundational to the Kwanzaa holiday, recommitting to our highest cultural ideals in thought and practice.
African Americans are the descendants of the creators of every aspect of the world’s development. African Americans have influenced every aspect of America’s development. Though we survived America’s enslavement of the generations of our fore parents and their prowess, we are navigating its legacy as it shows up in daily occurrences of racism. This affects our world-view, our self-view and our sense of self-worth. When our cultural memory and our spiritual truth can affirm and uphold the realities of our identity, then and now, in the 50th Anniversary of this holiday observance, we are, in theme,
Celebrating Our Magnificence.
The Nia Sessions are ongoing workshops that will also offer perspectives toward personal and community triumph. Watoto Kwanzaa presents, of course, Heritage Crafts For Children, a cornerstone of the Capital City Kwanzaa Festival. (Watoto means children in Kiswahili.) The event’s keynote speaker is the widely respected Dr. Patricia A. Newton aka Nana Dr. Akosua Akyaa, an international specialist in behavioral medicine and a proponent of the psycho-social-spiritual wellbeing of African people.
Festival events will occur as follows:
5:00pm The African Market Opens, filled with delicious foods plus books, unique handcrafted and imported items, art, home décor, natural body care, clothing, jewelry and more. Remains open throughout the event.
6:00pm The Pouring of Ancestral Libation and Kwanzaa Candle Lighting Ceremony, Affirmation of the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles and the ancestors upon whose shoulders we stand. The lighting of candles and the ceremony will feature a call-and- response affirmation. The Elegba Folklore Society’s performing company will lead the ceremony.
6:30pm Breeze The Poet. A professional spoken word artist, Breeze is known for his to-the-point, transparent writing and speaking style that exposes current events, relationships, history and his personal experience to gift audiences with a Serenity Song: Whole Hymns for Broken Peace, also the title of his book. Having performed at the Apollo Theater and elsewhere nationally, this Richmond native is a Grand Slam Champion many times over. He expresses himself in a way that has been called, “preacher-like,” and he says he was just sent to show the people their beauty inside his words.
7:00pm Opening Processional. Led by Elegba Folklore Society, the leaders of
The Nia Sessions join to greet the audience and present an overview of each session. The Society’s performers will also offer African Dance, Music and the Oral Tradition. These dancers, drummers, and singers focus primarily on West Africa to spur an evolving understanding of the cultural and historical underpinnings of the dance and its music while showing its relationship to the United States. Further, audiences develop an appreciation for the dynamic nature and contemporary influence of this timeless art form.
7:30pm The Nia Sessions and Watoto Kwanzaa Begin. Included are Reiki Master, Richard C. Yates, and other spiritual workers of The Joyce M. Branch Healing Place – alternative approaches to health maintenance, Stand for Justice with Lynetta Thompson who will discuss social issues for 2017, Do For Self in the 21st Century – encourages maximum productivity, with Azibo Turner, Healing Racial Trauma with peace education advocate, Ram Bhagat — and more. S. Ross Browne, visual artist and educator will facilitate Watoto Kwanzaa activities. The Nia Sessions will be ongoing from 7:30p.m. until 10:00 p.m.
8:00pm Dr. Patricia A. Newton Speaks. The festival’s keynote speaker will unpack the event theme from the place of the psycho-social-spiritual wellbeing of African people. The CEO and Medical Director of the Black Psychiatrists of America and Medical Director of Newton & Associates, PA, specialists in Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Patricia Newton, M.D., MPH, M.A., aka Nana Dr. Akosua Akyaa, also lectures in Ghana, South Africa, England, Spain, Senegal, Egypt, Ethiopia and Brazil. Her practice concentration is in the areas of anxiety disorders — post traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and social phobia. She has served as a consultant to the Congressional Black Caucus’ Brain Trust for health care policy development. She is currently in the process of a book launch entitled Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder, which will publish in three languages — English, Spanish and Portuguese — later this year. Dr. Newton has worked with traditional and indigenous healers of South America, Ghana, Senegal and South Arica, and she is an enstooled female king and queen mother in the Asante region of Ghana. A divisional chief, a Dompiahene, of the Agogo Traditional area, she is one of the first females to serve in this capacity and has the full rights afforded Asante royalty.

Her topic for the 2016 Capital City Kwanzaa Festival follows the event’s theme,
Celebrating Our Magnificence. She will entertain questions from the audience and also facilitate a small group consultation.
9:00pm Kenya Safari Acrobats. For more than 20 years, Kenyan acrobat, husband and father Jacob Kalama with his wife Karen and their company have dazzled audiences with the command of their bodies, timing and balance. The shows, which tour around the world, combine athleticism and education so that audiences can learn about aspects of Kenyan folklore and the Kiswahili language, also the language used to context the Kwanzaa holiday. The company trains daily, and the Kalamas have a school in Mombassa for developing new talent. Designed for families and fun, the Kenya Safari Acrobats will cause audiences to hold their breaths and cheer at once.

10:00pm Wildfire. Rooted in Senegal from the blood of the Mandinka to the shores of North America, Wildfire is a reggae artist, songwriter and producer. He sings about peace, love and African awareness through the inspiration of reggae music. Just returning to Virginia from a seven- city tour with Ghana’s Papa Wastik, Wildfire is making his third appearance at the Capital City Kwanzaa Festival.

11:00 p.m. Festival Closes.
Advance tickets for the 2016 Capital City Kwanzaa Festival are $6, general admission, $5 for students, 12 – 18 and $5 for seniors, 65 +. At the door tickets are $7, general admission, $6 for students, 12 – 18 and $6 for seniors, 65 +. Tickets for groups (at least 10 persons) are $5. Group tickets must be purchased in advance only. Single advance tickets can be purchased online at http://efsinc.org or at the Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 East Broad Street in Richmond, VA, 804.644.3900, where group tickets are also available. Admission is free for children under 12.

The Writer's Den Poetry Slam - 12/21/2016
2016-12-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States

Nora
2016-10-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Nora is a documentary based on the life of dancer Nora Chipaumire, who was born in Zimbabwe in 1965. In the film, Nora returns to the landscape of her childhood and travels through the vivid memories of her youth. Using performance and dance, she brings her story to life in a swift poem of sounds and images. Shot entirely on location in South Africa, Noraportrays a multitude of local performers and dancers of all ages, from schoolchildren to grandmothers. Much of the film’s music was specially composed by the legend of Zimbabwean music, Thomas Mapfumo. Elegba Folklore Society is happy to collaborate with the VCU Department of Dance and Choreography that will present Nora Chipaumire in concert and in the village in lecture demonstration on October 28 and 29 respectively. Contact VCU Dance for more information.

Harvest Festival - A Fire for Freedom
2016-10-15 13:00 - 15:00 | Meadow Farm, 3400 Mountain Road, Glen Allen, VA, 23060, United States
A Fire for Freedom

A one-act about Gabriel’s 1800 Revolt in Richmond to end slavery in Virginia,
and perhaps everywhere. Two shows at 1p and 2:30p.

The Culture & Magic of the Maasai People of Kenya
2016-10-13 18:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Experience and collect amazing beadwork, enjoy food and music, learn traditions and contemporary cause. Meet Chief Joseph ole Tipanko, pictured, Cicilia Seleyian, pictured, and John Kilenyi Parsitau.

New art exhibit opens: Foot Soldiers — Voting Rights. Civil Rights. Human Rights.
2016-10-07 17:00 - 2017-01-31 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
New art opens at Elegba Folklore Society on Friday, October 7 with a reception from 5p – 9p. A photography show entitled, Foot Soldiers — Voting Rights. Civil Rights. Human Rights. and features more than 200 images from a documentation of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. The photographer, Theodore Holmes, calls the series “a reminder to people to do something; to organize. This is my visual statement of inspiration and concern about an apparent ‘open season’ on young black people. Do something. That’s more than a vote. My photos are my activism.”

The Society’s Cultural Center is located in the RVA Arts District at 101 East Broad Street. The exhibit will run through January 31.

The Writer's Den Poetry Slam
2016-09-28 19:00 - 21:00 | Elegba Folklore Society’s Cultural Center, 101 E Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23219, United States
Richmond, VA’S premier poetry slam experience! We are now certified and preparing our team for both Regional and National competitions! Come and see the best poets #RVA has to offer! 7 p.m. at 101 East Broad Street
