On First Friday, March 1st, the Garfield Center will feature a youth talent showcase interwoven with stories re-told from an older generation. Youth Xpression is an open-mic style event intended to motivate creative youth expression through music, art and fashion while also uniting intergenerational audiences through the blending of voices.
In addition to contemporary performance, the early evening event will involve youth sharing stories of an older generation. The stories are drawn from River Arts’ Our Lives Our Voices project which will be on temporary exhibition in the theatre’s Kohl Lobby. The evening supports youth talent and audiences of all ages.
The event is held on the anniversary of the 2010 Reconciliation Celebration (conducted in partnership with the African American Heritage Council), designed to acknowledge past social inequities as they were experienced at the Prince Theatre and to honor the talents of our community. This year the theme of Reconciliation is embraced on an intergenerational level as Our Voices Through Youth Xpression will blend the sharing of voices, both young and old.
Our Voices Through Youth Xpression will run from 5:30-7:30pm, so that the community may be able to attend KCHS’ musical theatre production of HAIRSPRAY at 8pm in Worton and WC’s senior thesis production of Rancho Mirage. This event is supported by the Diversity Dialogue Group and RiverArts’ project by Lani Seikaly. Additional support comes from Washington College’s Office of Multi-cultural Affairs and the Kent County Arts Council. There are still a few performance slots available, please contact Lucia Foster to get on the list: 410-810-2060 or lfoster@garfieldcenter.org
*The event commemorates the anniversary of the theatre’s 2010 Reconciliation Celebration (conducted in partnership with the African American Heritage Council), held March 5, 2010 was designed as a community healing event to recognize the existence of social injustice and the memories of segregation still lingering in the historic Prince Theatre building. The event involved community members of all races and ages, members of local faith communities, words of Bishop Tutu on forgiveness, the sharing of personal experiences, a ceremonial laying down of stones (a metaphor for casting down social injustice) as a memorial towards reconciliation, and a Kent County proclamation acknowledging March 3, 2010 as Reconciliation Celebration Day. The event concluded in a open-mic style celebration of diverse community talent and a commitment toward community dialogue and reconciliation.