Community Calendar

Saturday, December 21st 
Sistas’ Place Kwanzaa Holiday Market
Sistas’ Place,
456 Nostrand Ave.,
1-6pm, FREE. 
You know Sistas’ Place, the Jazz Club in Brooklyn with the rich history in Black Activism? Well, Tribal Truths Collection will be joining with other artisans to make a wonderful Kwanzaa market just for you! 

Monday, December 23rd
Seniors: Come for the Good Times, Stay for the Food!
Maria Lawton Neighborhood Senior Center,
400 Hart St.,
M-F 8am-4pm, FREE.
The Fort Greene Council Inc. invites seniors to congregate for breakfast, lunch and dinner weekdays. A free membership provides computer literacy courses, art workshops, line dancing, yoga, strength training, cardio aerobics, nutrition and health education and much more. For further information call 718-452-7474.

Tuesday, December 24th
Health Job Training Programs
Make the Road NY,
301 Grove St.,
call for hours,
FREE.
Registration is open through January for two health career trainings. Training #1 is the ESOL Bridge to Health Careers, an English language/job training course. It offers free Metro Cards, job placement assistance and career counseling. Training #2 is a Community Health Worker course featuring internship placement, career counseling and additional health certificates. For information call 718-418-7690, Ext. 1271.

Wednesday, December 25th
Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 26th
Happy First Day of Kwanzaa!

Winter Recess in Prospect Park
Multiple locations
visit prospectpark.org.,
12-4pm,
FREE.
Get ready for family-friendly programming in Prospect Park during Winter Recess. Make your own “gilded Frame” for holiday photos, take a wilderness walk, enjoy animal encounters, play bird-related games and more. There’s a lot to do so you can spread it out over a few days. Winter Recess activities end on 12/29.

Saturday, December 28th
BEPAA Kwanzaa Celebration
Clarke House,
286 Convent Ave.,
Manhattan,
4-8pm,
FREE.
The Board of Education for People of African Ancestry hosts its annual Kwanzaa Celebration and the theme this year is “Relating to the Past, Understanding the Present & Preparing for the Future.” Celebrate community, culture and the 7 Principles together. [RSVP at 4bepaa@gmail.com] 

Diaspora Arts Collective Market
Lafayette Avenue
Presbyterian Church,
85 So. Oxford St.,
12-6pm,
FREE.
Shop for your Kwanzaa gifts with the Diaspora Arts Collective. Organized by community culture creator Brenda Brunson-Bey, this market features the wearable art of fine art clothing designers, jewelry makers, hat designers and more will provide unique gift items for loved ones or to treat yourself! 

Tuesday, December 31st
New Year’s Eve Jazz Vespers
Emmanuel Baptist Church,
279 Lafayette Ave.,
5-7pm,
FREE.
Experience the presence of God through the sounds of jazz. Featured will be the Danny Mixon Group. 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Sunday, January 5th
New Year Benefit Teach-In for Blacks
@ The Border Bed-Stuy Restoration, IAAFESTIVAL
Office Suite 401,
1360 Fulton St., 3-5pm,
bring your checkbook.
Black immigrant stories are absent in the press. This event will inform the community about their plight and the ways in which much-needed help can reach them. They need food, water, sleeping tents, hygiene products, translators and legal services. The program will feature multimedia presentations, eyewitness reports, music and more. For information call 718-789-3264 or 718-638-6700. Organized by The New York Chapter of the National Association of Kawaida Organizations (NAKO), in conjunction with the International African Arts Festival (IAAFESTIVAL) and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI). 

Friday, January 10th  

Souls Grown Diaspora Opening Reception apexart, 291 Church St., Manhattan, 6-8pm, FREE. This exhibition explores a generation of leading contemporary visionary African-American artists and their art-historical lineage shaped by the Great Migration. Mostly self-taught, their works address a range of social and political subjects. Featured will be work by Alvin Baltrop, Raynes Birkbeck, Stephanie Crawford, Curtis Cuffie, Otis Houston, Jr., Dapper Bruce Lafitte, Reverend Joyce McDonald, Sara Penn, Frederick Weston and Wesley Willis. A collection of research material will be included and a series of performances and talks will accompany the exhibition during its run, ending March 7th. Souls Grown Diaspora, curated by Sam Gordon, was selected through apexart’s Open Call.