Report To The Community 2022

a holiday tradition
reborn
kwanzaa festival
returns to unite people,
pride and performance
seven principles, from unity
(Umoja) to creativity (Kuumba).
Jam-packed with activities
inspired by those principles,
NJPAC’s Kwanzaa celebration
has become a hallmark of the
holiday season in Newark, thanks
to the support of Leon and Toby
Cooperman, and corporate
sponsors ADP and Whole Foods.
“As our community’s anchor
institution, we’re living those
principles every day, all through
the year — but in December,
Workshops in drumming and all
kinds of dance — from salsa and
capoeira to West African dance
and Jersey club styles — unfolded
in the Chase and Community
Rooms. Children and their
parents were invited to make a
mosaic or a mask, or to create a
collage out of African fabrics.
Local artisans and African
American owned companies
sold goods at a marketplace,
offering everything from
handmade soaps to kente-cloth
step dance, liturgical dance,
drumming and more. There
was even a fashion show.
For the first time, the Kwanzaa
celebration was presented in
collaboration with a series of
Newark partners, including
the Newark Museum of Art,
Newark Arts, City of Newark,
Newark Symphony Hall and
Newark Public Library.
This year, festival crowds were
joined by audience members
“This is a story about
Kwanzaa!” announced
a storyteller from the
Newark Public Library,
holding up a picture book
in front of a crowd of
wide-eyed children in the
Victoria Theater lobby.
The kids’ faces were
painted with swirls of
color, and they clutched
masks and collages
they’d created at craft
tables run by the Alpha
Kappa Alpha and Delta
Sigma Theta sororities.
Such was the scene at
NJPAC’s free Kwanzaa
Family Festival and
Artisan Marketplace,
which returned in
December as an in-person
event for the first time in
three years. More than
1,000 attendees filled the
Arts Center’s lobbies,
hallways and gathering
spaces throughout
the day to shop, craft,
watch performances
and learn new skills.
The Kwanzaa holiday is
devoted to celebrating
This page: Family-friendly events included face-painting, mask-making
and more. Opposite page (l-r): Local artisans and African American owned
companies sold goods at the Kwanzaa Artisan Marketplace; more than
100 artists demonstrated step dance, liturgical dance and more.
“Days like these, when all aspects of our work come together to
make a whole that’s even greater than the sum of its parts —
that’s what makes this Arts Center so unique and so important.”
we really celebrate them,” says
Eyesha Marable, NJPAC’s
Assistant Vice President,
Community Engagement.
The facilities were decked out
for the celebration with colorful
quilts hanging from the first tier.
A table was heaped with fruits,
vegetables and cornbread, all
donated by Whole Foods for the
traditional Kwanzaa Mazao, a
representation of the harvest.
handbags and amber jewelry.
Many of the Community
Engagement department’s
partner organizations,
including La Casa de Don
Pedro and Clinton Hill
Community Action, also
had tables at the festival.
And the floor of Prudential
Hall was perpetually filled with
music and motion as more
than 100 artists performed
– John Schreiber
who arrived to see two sold-out
performances of NJPAC’s The
Hip Hop Nutcracker. More
families came for the Women@
NJPAC Christmas event, Jazz
and Gingerbread, which offered
families a chance to decorate
gingerbread houses while
enjoying swinging holiday
music courtesy of students
from TD Jazz for Teens. •
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