Love, Beauty, and Culture: Kwanzaa Fest Returns to the Stage
One of the highlights of the show was the African dance. Photo: Elise Badmaev
By AMALIA LEBOWITSCH and ELISE BADMAEV
“It’s about love, it’s about beauty, it’s about our culture.”
That was the mantra of this year’s Kwanzaa Fest, which was back with a splash on December 21. The powerful installment was once again brought to life by the Black Heritage Alliance (BHA) and director Ms. Marie Volcy, to teach Midwood students about the meaning of Kwanzaa, a holiday to celebrate African-American culture.
This performance was the first since 2019 due to Covid-19 precautions. Moriah Fender ‘23, one of the overall showrunners and co-president of the BHA with Faith Matthew ‘23, said, “The experience was pretty hectic honestly. Of course we really wanted it to happen this year since the seniors were the last grade to actually experience Kwanzaa Fest.”
The production incorporated comical acting, passionate singing, head-turning modeling, and pithy poetry. The show had seven segments, each representing a different principle of Kwanzaa: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).
“Many people don’t know about the cultures of others, or even their own culture,” said Fender. “I didn’t know the significance of Kwanzaa until I participated in Kwanzaa Fest during freshman year.”
“It shows how you can find so much joy within cultures and that you’re not excluded just because you don’t fit within a certain group,” Fender added. “Kwanzaa in itself is a celebration, and we wanted to show that through the festival while being as inclusive as possible to anyone who wanted to celebrate with us. I think that’s the goal for any cultural festival.”
“Cultural fests like these are important because they shine light on the demographics that represent Midwood,” stage director Sebastian Senior ‘23 said. “They give the students watching an insight into what a culture is all about and what it represents. Even though I don’t celebrate Kwanzaa, I’ve gotten to know more and more about it through my participation in the festival.”
The show’s plot followed a group of friends, played by sophomore Gabrielle Laforest and seniors N’Avea Saint Louis, Patrice McDonald, Russell Danso, and Godwin Ngadi, who get trapped in a book about Kwanzaa and have to learn the meanings of the holiday’s principles in order to escape. After learning each principle, a cast member would read a poem to the audience to introduce the next one. Throughout the show, there was exciting African dance and beautiful gospel singing.
Trey Woodbine ‘24 was this year’s gospel director. After a slightly stressful start, as he joined the directors’ table late, he pulled through with his small but powerful choir. “I didn’t have many people to begin with, which was not the best situation, but I got more and more as time went on. It’s been a fun experience,” he said.
During the choir’s second song, “I Smile” by Kirk Franklin, the audience was singing along, clapping, and waving their phone flashlights in a starry constellation.
A gospel choir led by junior Trey Woodbine had the audience singing and clapping. Photo: Deborah Zeleny
Next, during the fashion show, there were also a lot of cheers as students walked out displaying classic African clothes with bright patterns. The girls came out in elaborate dresses and jumpsuits while the boys, often shirtless, wore matching colorful pants. New principal Dr. Robert Quinlan even made a surprise appearance as one of the final models, adorned in a traditional African top and hat.
Penelope Hinchey, a sophomore who attended the show, said, “I was in awe of everything! From the clothing and colors to the dancing and rhythms.” This was a sentiment that seemed to be shared with the rest of the audience as, after the show, the crowd was still buzzing with excitement and dancing along with the music.
After all the hard work and the late hours the cast and crew pulled, it was exciting to finally put the production on stage and get a reaction from the sold-out crowd. Fender said, “Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like Faith and I were the ones technically putting on the show because there were a lot of things going on at once to make sure it all looked good, but I can sit back and say that I could not be happier with the product.”
“I can only hope that this leads to even better Kwanzaa Fests for the years to come,” she said, “with even more people joining to celebrate.”