You don’t have to look far to find local events that will pull at your heartstrings, delight your fancy and make you prouder than ever to rep your culture.
The 28th annual Concert of Colors diversity-themed music festival is slated Oct. 6-11. The now live-streamed event will feature everything from jazz and funk right from the heart of Detroit to Balkan fusion and Indigenous Canadian root music. According to the website, https://www.concertofcolors.com, the purpose of the lively, week-long festival is to bring metro Detroit’s diverse communities and ethnic groups together through music and dance from around the world, while establishing dialogue where participants “embrace freedom of expression.”
Concert of Colors Deputy Director Ralph Valdez said that this concert is one that can be heard in the comfort of one’s own home. And though it is without a live audience, fellow music lovers can still come together.
“It is important to gather as viewers and participate by dancing and exploring the people of other cultures and places outside of our comfort zone,” Valdez said. “It’s very important, especially in the times we’re in that are so divisive. The Concert of Colors is really about unity and (togetherness) and showing all the displays that the human experience expresses itself through music and culture.”
Find out more information on the free music event’s schedule at https://www.concertofcolors.com.
Charles H. Wright Museum Of African American History is hosting a Water Wednesday Virtual Film Festival Oct. 11-14. The event is in partnership with many groups, including the Detroit Future City Land and Water program. The film series culminates into an action plan and interactive panel discussion 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 14.
“Since 2015, staff and volunteers have been working to uplift the museum to a place where powerful dialogues on important topics like climate action can take place,” Leslie Tom, chief sustainability officer at The Wright and the person in charge of Water Wednesday, said. “As Detroit is on the path to becoming one of the greenest cities, The Wright Museum is working to engage individuals from all communities, with particular attention in our works with people of color. We believe, in neighborhoods where vacant lots exist, they are great opportunities for self-sufficiency and growth.”
For more information visit https://www.thewright.org.
Learn a little bit about love and marriage with Black Marriage Day at 3 p.m. Nov. 15 at The Wright. The virtual celebration, according to the website, thewright.org, is an annual celebration of marriage and family, and its importance in the African-American community.
Nisa Muhammad, the founder of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Wedded Bliss Foundation in 2002, saw the need for Black Marriage Day and others did, too. One year after her developing the initiative, 30 other communities nationwide participated, too, according to the museum website.
This event is sponsored by Black Family Development, Black United Fund of Michigan, and Praise Detroit. Tickets are $10 and will go on sale soon. The event will be live-streamed from the General Motors Theater, and according to its website includes:
- Welcome by Randi Myles, midday host and program director of Detroit Praise Network.
- “Love and War” a dramatic presentation by Connell “CJ” and Lydia Brown.
- “Together As One” a dance performance by LaShell’s School of Dance under the choreography of Alanna Phillips.
- “Marriage Matters” a salon discussion featuring moderated by CEO and founder of Banks Construction LLC, Sean Banks; and Toy Banks, founder of Better Wife Better Life.
“We have all heard the negative generational statistics of divorce rates and how children are often caught in the middle,” Angela King, coordinator of Black Marriage Day at The Wright, said. “At the Charles H. Wright Museum, fostering healthy relationships among teens, singles, and couples so more African American children grow up with the benefits of a two-parent family is a major component of why we commemorate Black Marriage Day!”
For more information go to https://www.thewright.org.
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