Dancer Samantha Figgins: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will soar onto the stage in February 2025 at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
Photo by Dario Calmese
FunTimes Magazine’s Culture + Entertainment column, week of May 27, 2024
“I am what time, circumstance, and history have made of me, certainly, but I am also much more than that. So are we all.” — Writer James Baldwin
As May is winding down handing off the torch to June on the horizon of the summer ahead, say hello to the Juneteenth celebration. Juneteenth, now a federal holiday, celebrates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. It marks the day on June 19, 1865, when official news that slavery was abolished had reached Galveston, TX, one of the deepest regions of the Confederacy. These engaging, enlightening, and entertaining low-cost or free entertainment offerings, which focus on Juneteenth and other cultural and literacy events, will be the perfect tonic to bid goodbye to May and welcome June.
A Good Read On Baldwin At 100
Thursday, May 30, 2024. To mark James Baldwin’s 100th birthday, the Free Library of Philadelphia is hosting a Philadelphia Reads James Baldwin reading group. Led by Dr. Anthony Monteiro, the literary discussion examines Baldwin’s insightful essays. Celebrate the work, life, and legacy of the revolutionary artist and freedom fighter, who would have turned 100 this year. Explore his ideas on race, humanity, and other topics. The reading group is a part of the “Year of James Baldwin in Philly,” a citywide celebration through reading groups, film screenings, and symposiums. Reading materials will be provided and time to do the readings as a group will be incorporated into the evening, followed by a group discussion. No registration is required. Free, 5:30 p.m. EST to 7:30 p.m. EST. Parkway Central Library, Rm. 108, 1901 Vine St. 1-833-835-5357 or libwww.freelibrary.org or https://www.yearofjamesbaldwin.org/.
Saturday, June 1 & Sunday, 2, 2024. The Roots Picnic music festival, curated by Philly hip-hop band The Roots, is back and better than ever. Featured will be a stellar old-school and new-school lineup of Philly’s neo-soul sister Jill Scott, Lil Wayne, and 90s rap royalty Nas. 2024 Grammy Award-winner Victoria Monét, André 3000, Cam’ron, Fantasia, hit maker Babyface and more Single tickets start at $104 per day; 1 p.m. The Mann Center, 5201 Parkside Ave., West Fairmount Park. https://therootspicnic.com/.
Courtesy of the Odunde Festival
A Time-Honored Festival To Soothe The Soul
Saturday, June 2 to Sunday, June 9, 2024. At an irrepressible age of 49, The Odunde Festival is a week of good vibrations that joyfully and proudly celebrates the African and Caribbean communities and cultures. The festival is considered to be the United State’s largest African-American street festival. An estimated 500,000 folks come out to enjoy traditional culture, homemade African and Caribbean soul food, dance, yoga, musical performances, and business networking with the representatives of the Homeland. Free admission; pay-as-you-go. Centered at South and South 23rd streets: 2308 Grays Ferry Ave. in South Philadelphia. E-mail: odundefestival@gmail.com, 267-320-4364 or www.odundefestival.org.
Lifting Up History
Monday, June 3, 2024. The nationally-observed Juneteenth celebration kicks off locally at the Philadelphia Family’s Juneteenth Flag Raising Ceremony. It will highlight community, culture, pride, Juneteenth’s history, and the unification of Philadelphia’s African, African-American, and Caribbean populations. A formal City of Philadelphia and community-produced flag-raising ceremony will include drummers, singers, and speeches led by community champion and attorney Keir Bradford-Gray, the first Black female to head the Montgomery County defenders office. The official Juneteenth holiday is Wednesday, June 19th. marking the end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021. Free, 11 a.m. EST. Philadelphia City Hall sidewalk north side, 1400 John F. Kennedy Blvd. 215-686-0876 or phila.gov.
A Talk About The Road To Race Relations
Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Historian Mia Bay will discuss her latest prize-winning book, Traveling Black: A Story of Race and Resistance, chronicling “segregation in America that reveals just how central travel restrictions were to the creation of Jim Crow laws — and why “traveling Black” has been at the heart of the quest for racial justice ever since.” Bay’s resume is rich: She is the author of To Tell the Truth Freely: The Life of Ida B. Wells and The White Image in the Black Mind, and co-author of Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans, with Documents. She is Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History at the University of Pennsylvania. Free, but registration is suggested, 6 p.m. EST. Registration is encouraged. Parkway Central Library, Rm. 108, 1901 Vine St. 1-833-835-5357 or libwww.freelibrary.org.
Field trips are part of summer camps
Free Summer Camps In The City
Parents: Looking for kids’ camps this summer for a full or half day? If so. Mighty Writers has what you need. The youth literacy nonprofit offers camps for up to seven weeks for kids of all ages featuring literacy programs, dance, art, social-emotional learning, swimming, cheerleading, sports, and field trips in Philadelphia, Chester County, and New Jersey. For example, the Mighty Writers Germantown program, 12 E. Church Lane in Philadelphia, offers three weeks of full-day camps for elementary to high school students. Grade schoolers will learn crafting, DIY projects, nature writing, and about Philly foods. That will be followed by three weeks of middle school camps with field trips, writing, and a high school prep workshop for middle schoolers. In August, check out a one-week half-day camp for high schoolers who get a chance to prepare for college life. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Free. Times vary.
E-mail: bcrump@mightywriters.org or kcannady@mightywriters.org, 267-239-0899 (Ext.1) or mightywriters.org.
