JOIN US on Sept 11th for a hands-on SHEKERE* workshop, as part of our 2nd Annual SANKOFA series this fall. This preliminary workshop will teach shekere making for all ages and skill levels with Carol "Caru" Thompson, a local African-American shekere master and percussionist in partnership with Circle Creative Collective and MyKingstonKids.
A *shekere is a traditional African percussion instrument made from hollowed-out gourds and decorated on the outside with beads, shells, seeds or nuts woven into a net. They have been a pivotal and essential part of West African and Yoruba culture.
Those in attendance of this class will also learn rhythms and songs as well as will be invited to take part in the final Sankofa celebration on October 2nd at Kingston Point Beach. Each ticket is for one gourd and it is encouraged that families decorate one together, or each child has an adult to help and co-create each gourd.
WHEN: Rain or Shine Sept. 11th, 2021 11am-3:30
WHERE: Kingston Point Beach under the Pavillion
HOW: No one will be turned away, pay what you can or pay it forward. Suggested Donation priced : $35 per person, includes lunch and beverage, as well as pre-prepped gourds plus beads and string CLICK HERE to purchase tickets or find out more.
Carol Caru Thompson will again share her wisdom on October 2nd through a puppetry and storytelling performance and ceremony to honor the descendants and spirits of enslaved African people who once lived and shaped the Hudson Valley, their history, cultural contributions, and experience. Caru has also founded Good Gourd, a singing and percussion group honoring African-American heritage and culture who will also be performing and helping to create the honoring ceremony.
“Sankofa” is from the Twi language of Ghana and teaches us to reach back to our roots to recover and gather the best of what our past has to teach us, so we can move forward with our full potential. Whatever we have lost, forgotten or been stripped of, can be revived, preserved, and sustained.
JOIN US for this great hands-on workshop or experience others throughout the Hudson Valley this fall, as well as our culminating event of celebration and ceremony at Kingston Point Beach on Oct. 2nd!
CLICK HERE for more info about other SANKOFA EVENTS AND CLASSES! Sankofa: Honoring the past, empowering the present, dreaming the future. A Season Of Traditional Craft PRESENTED BY CIRCLE CREATIVE COLLECTIVE
Through this series of gatherings, in community, we will be reminded that when we engage with creative endeavors, we are not merely making something beautiful. As we do, we are participating in traditions that are thousands of years old, embodying the work of many countless ancestors, while having the opportunity to re-energize a creative outlet with our unique soul's expression.
