FESTIVAL EVENTS

First Fruit XIV : Come Celebrate with Me; a celebration of life, triumph, soul and creativity!
September 10 – October 9, 2010
Reception: Friday, September 24, 2010 6:00-9:00pm
*Featuring live music by DJ Soy Sos from 6:30 -8:30pm

This is MAVUNO’s 14th annual exhibition, featuring artwork created by emerging and accomplished African American artists and artists whose work celebrates African American culture. This year’s exhibition is inspired by the last 2 lines of the late Lucille Clifton’s poem, Won’t You Celebrate with Me, “Come celebrate with me the fact that everyday something has tried to kill me, and has failed!”

This exhibition is juried by Vanessa German, an award winning, multi disciplinary artist. A performer and sculptor, German creates contemporary power figures inspired by the everyday extraordinary might of the human spirit. The theme, Come Celebrate with Me, invites artists to visually acknowledge, express and exhort the grief, pain, sorrow, triumph and transformation of our stories. From transformation to living ritual, Come Celebrate with Me is not only a call to MAVUNO, it is a call to community, a call to the connectivity of humanity, a call to join in the recognition and celebration of hands and imagination at work- and in work, in purpose. Come Celebrate with Me is an open invitation to the eyes, to the mind and to the spirit.

The reception will coincide with the Sewickley Fall Gallery Walk.

Sweetwater Center for the Arts
Free!

The “Dwayne Dolphin Presents” Music Series
Saturdays, 7:00-9:00pm

Join us for this music series featuring 3 concerts which will showcase a different style of jazz each week. These talented regional performers were hand-picked by internationally-known, Pittsburgh-based jazz musician, Dwayne Dolphin. Refreshments, wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Purchase your tickets early and save! Seating is limited.

Sweetwater Center for the Arts
Members: $8 advance / $10 day of event
Non-members: $12 advance / $15 day of event

*Saturday, September 11, 2010: Dwayne Dolphin and Friends
*Saturday, September 18, 2010: David & Maureen Budway Quartet: Featuring Jeff Grubbs and James Johnson, III
*Saturday, September 25, 2010: Roger Humphries and His Big Band

Historical Tour
Saturday, September 11, 2010 2:00pm

Experience the excitement of the Big Band Era in Sewickley's African American Community through a guided tour of photographs and stories housed within the Historic Landmark and first "colored mission," St. Matthews African American Episcopal Church at Thorn and Walnut Streets. Dressed in the fashion of the day, author Autumn Redcross will take you back in time without leaving the building. Soul Food will be on the menu that day and available for dine in or take out.

Sweetwater Center for the Arts
Free!

Free Art Workshops for Kids
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 & Thursday, September 16, 2010 4:30-6:00pm

Sweetwater will be hosting free art workshops for kids during our annual MAVUNO Festival of African American Art and Culture.

Sweetwater Center for the Arts
Free!

Kulu Mele African American Dance Ensemble Performance
Saturday, October 2, 2010 2:00pm(following the African American Heritage Day Parade in Downtown Pittsburgh)

Founded in 1969 by Baba Robert Crowder, Kulu Mele presents and preserves African dance traditions rooted in the cultures and aesthetic values of the African Diaspora. The company has been led by Artistic Director Dorothy Wilkie for more than 20 years. Its repertoire draws upon the music and movement forms of Brazil, Haiti, Cuba, Nigeria, Guinea, Ghana, and the Senegambia region, as well as African-American vernacular traditions. Performances and workshops actively engage audiences and convey the significance of the dances in the societies from which they are derived. For many in the audience, a Kulu Mele performance strengthens the sense of cultural identity; for others, it offers a look at the rich traditions and heritage of Africa.
This performance will feature Afro Cuban, West African and African American dance.

One of only two major arts institutions in the world named for Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright and Pittsburgh native August Wilson, the August Wilson Center for African American Culture engages regional and national audiences in its mission of preserving, presenting, interpreting, celebrating and shaping the art, culture and history of African Americans in Western Pennsylvania and people of African descent throughout the world.
From its new home in a vibrant Cultural District, the sleekly modern August Wilson Center offers multiple exhibition galleries, a 486-seat theater for performances in all genres, an education center for classes, lectures and hands-on learning, unique shopping, and dazzling spaces for community programs and events. The Center is a place like no other for experiencing theater, dance, music, history, film, literature, visual art, interactive education and spectacular entertainment, all under one roof.
More information is available at AugustWilsonCenter.org and by calling 412.258.2700.

August Wilson Center for African American Culture,
980 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh
Free!

Lecture: Celebratory Imagery
Friday, October 8, 6:30 – 8:30pm

Elizabeth Asche Douglas, retired Professor of Fine Arts & Humanities, will give a lecture illustrated with visual art works by celebrated African American masters, interspersed with readings from African American poets and writers on celebratory themes. Refreshments, wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served

Sweetwater Center for the Arts
Free!

Rejoice in Gospel!
Saturday, October 9, 6:30pm

The art of gospel is an inherent aspect of African American culture today and throughout history, along with the tradition of choir days. Sweetwater is honored to host its own choir day where choirs from regional churches come together to perform their favorite gospel songs in this joyous performance. Brother Marlon, host of the Sunday Gospel radio program, will be our Master of Ceremonies.

Sewickley Academy, Rea Auditorium,
315 Academy Ave., Sewickley
$3 donation suggested