Afro Urban Society x Berkeley Rep

WE IN THERE! BLACK THEATER NIGHT

Join AUS outside for a pre-show mixer at Peet’s at Berkeley Rep, then go in & see Bulrusher show!
Friday, November 3, 2023 | 7:00 - 7:45pm

Berkeley Repertory Theatre | Narsai M. David Courtyard

2015 Addison St., Berkeley

Featuring

• Spoken Word: Mahder Aklilu

• Movement: Jamie Carter

• Live Music: Cadence Myles

• DJ + Dance: PlayCookie Selectah & Gbedu Town Steppaz

FREE for Pre-Show

The promo code for tickets is BTN50 which will gets folx 50% off tickets to the performance of BULRUSHER on FRIDAY 11/3 only.

Accessibility: www.berkeleyrep.org | customerservice@berkeleyrep.org

ABOUT

Step into the world of Bulrusher, a poignant coming of age tale by Berkeley Native Eisa Davis infused with rhythmic language, passion, and down-home humor. It’s 1955, and Bulrusher is 18 and restless, with a gift for clairvoyance that makes her feel like a stranger even amongst the eccentric, dialect speaking folks of her predominantly white enclave of Boonville. When a mysterious young Black woman from Birmingham comes to town, Bulrusher discovers new facets of her identity — and uncovers her place in the world.  

Mo’ Roots Fest 2023

‘Dynamic, Daring, Delightful Dandelion’

Celebrating the Life, Love, & Legacy of Monica Hastings-Smith 

In partnership with Black Cultural Zone, as part of Oakland Juneteenth Liberation Weekend

We invite you to gather as an intergenerational community to honor and celebrate Monica Hastings-Smith, our mentor, auntie, and musical director, who transitioned to the ancestor realm in June 2021. 

This year’s theme ‘Dynamic, Daring, Delightful Dandelion’ is inspired by ‘The Dandelion Song’, which was co-created by Mo’ and her 4/5 year-old forest school music students in 2018. The song celebrates the beauty, richness, and resilience of the Dandelion. Although many in society view them as weeds to kill and get rid of, Dandelions have many medicinal and healing benefits and are experts of survival. 

Date: Saturday, June 10, 2022 

Time: 1:00–6:00 pm 

Location: Liberation Park, 7101 Foothill, Oakland

FREE

FEATURING
Performances, Interactive Activities, & Art Installations by:KeidraOnstage
BoomShake
Chinyakare Ensemble
Feline Finesse
MJ's Brass Boppers
DíaPaSón
Asé Arts
Julia LaChica
Abundant Beginnings
Black Banjo Reclamations
Manzanita SEED
Maaso Medicina/Floripondio
& More

DANDELION SONG
By Monica Hastings-Smith, ZioraMmachi Bender-deMoll, Johnnie Mae Taylor, Akira Pearl Williams-Rawlings,

Come pick some dandelions in the forest with me
We’re making medicine
We’re making tea
We dig the roots
We pick the leaves

Come and pick some dandelions in the forest with me

VENUE + PARKING:

• Liberation Park / Black Cultural Zone, 7101 Foothill, Oakland

• Parking available off 73rd street near the McDonald’s

• Food vendors on site (TBA)

• Porta-potties and handwashing stations on site

ACCESSIBILITY:

• Liberation Park is wheelchair accessible and close to the Eastmont Transit Center bus stop. The park terrain is flat but not completely smooth.

• We will have designated ADA seating as well as ASL interpretation for the performances.

• 2 of the porta-potties are ADA-compliant.

• Please email boomshakemusic@gmail.com if you have accessibility needs not addressed here.

WHAT TO BRING:

• Bring an offering for the altar, and a drum if you have one.

• Please wear your face mask for our collective safety.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mo-roots-fest-2023-tickets-595337158467

www.boomshakemusic.com for more info and to join us.

Afro Urban Society x Berkeley Rep

WE IN THERE!

Join AUS outside for a pre-show mixer in Courtyard, then go in & see the ripple, the wave that carried me home show!
Tues October 11, 2022 | 6:45-7:30pm

Berkeley Repertory Theatre | Narsai M. David Courtyard

2015 Addison St., Berkeley

Featuring

• Spoken Word: Reggie Edmonds, Meilani Clay

• Live Painting: Olubori Babaoye

• DJ + Dance: PlayCookie Selectah & Gbedu Town Steppaz

Free with October 11 ticket for the ripple, the wave that carried me home

Accessibility: www.berkeleyrep.org | customerservice@berkeleyrep.org

Mask\Vaccine required for attendance 

ABOUT

Meilani Clay is a writer, mama, and educator from Oakland, CA. Her work has appeared in Nomadic Press’s Patrice Lumumba: An Anthology of Writers on Black Liberation and online literary journal The Ana. Her debut poetry collection, and the creek don’t rise, was the winner of the 2021 Michael Rubin Book Award from San Francisco State University’s Fourteen Hills Press. A graduate of Howard University, the University of San Francisco, and a current MFA Poetry candidate at SFSU, Meilani aspires to be in school forever, to bridge worlds with her words, and to one day build forts out of books written by Black folks. Twitter @meiclay | IG @meiclaysol

Olubori Babaoye is a Nigerian-American multifaceted artist from Oakland, CA. Over the years, I’ve continuously strived to perfect my craft and earn my titles as a classical painter, digital illustrator, Sip n Paint instructor, as well as a live performer. www.oluboribabaoye.com

Afro Urban Society x Berkeley Rep

AUS Night Out/Preshow Mixer

Join AUS outside for a pre-show mixer in Courtyard, then go in & see the Goddess or the ripple, the wave that carried me home show!
Tues Sep 20, 2022 | 6:45-7:30pm

Berkeley Repertory Theatre | Narsai M. David Courtyard

2015 Addison St., Berkeley

Featuring

• Live Painting with 2AM

• Performance by Gbedu Town Radio

• DJ & Interactive Dance Session

• & vibes.

Free with 9/20 evening ticket for Goddess or the ripple, the wave that carried me home

ALSO Get 50% off tickets to see Goddess for our AUS Black/African Community use code AFROURBANSOCIETY (restrictions apply/read below for more details)

Accessibility: www.berkeleyrep.org | customerservice@berkeleyrep.org

Mask\Vaccine required for attendance 

*50% off tickets for our Black AUS community members with discount code AFROURBANSOCIETY

*Please read offer details

Offer is good for a 50% discount on two (2) tickets for any ONE performance of Goddess between 9/16- 9/23 with the following restrictions:  

• applies to seating in sections A and B only

• offer will expire if performances reach capacity or 11:59pm on September 23, whichever occurs first

Tickets must be booked online – enter the code AFROURBANSOCIETY manually:

1. Enter the promo code and click the “Submit” button at the top right before adding any seats to your cart

2. Select your own seats in the A or B sections, a discount of 50% off will be automatically reflected. Continue to finalize order. If you have not booked tickets before, you will need to create an account

3. If you do not see the 50% discount applied, the offer has reached capacity for that date/time

Your tickets will arrive via email shortly after the initial confirmation. Be sure to check your promotions/junk/clutter/spam folder if you don’t see an email with the subject: “your e-tickets have arrived” within 15 minutes of your order. Tickets can be printed or scanned directly from a smartphone at the door

The fine print: This offer is based on availability and may expire at any time. This offer is not available retroactively.  

A reminder about Berkeley Rep COVID-19 health and safety policies:  

• Berkeley Rep is a vaccinated company, including staff, artists, and volunteers. All attendees and guests must present a vaccination card, a photo of your card, or a digital vaccine record with matching ID.  First boosters are required for all eligible attendees. 

• Masks must be worn at all times in all indoor areas of the theatre

• Check our website for additional COVID safety information

Celebrating the Life, Love, and Legacy of Monica Hastings-Smith

We invite you to gather as an intergenerational community to honor and celebrate Monica Hastings-Smith, our mentor, auntie, and musical director, who transitioned to the ancestor realm in June 2021.

OFFERINGS / TIMES

PERFORMANCES:

• Afro Peruvian Coalition 3:00PM

• Gbedu Town Radio 3:30PM

• MJ's Brass Boppers 4:00PM

• BoomShake 5:00PM

INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES + WORKSHOPS:

• Hella Healed 11:30AM-12:30PM — Kicking off a day of festivities, Hella Healed: Roots of Prosperity will focus on the root and foundation. From setting intentions and grounding energy, we will plant, nurture, and enjoy many seeds. We strongly encourage family attendance. We must heal and build together to get where we wish to go as a people. (This is a closed space for the Afrikan Black community.)

• Rosesharon Oates 11:00AM-6:00PM — Healing modalities

• Ietef "DJ Cavem" Vita 1:00PM-2:00PM — Plant based record music workshop

• Abundant Beginnings + Mitali Purkayastha 1:00PM-5:00PM — The Dandelion Song

• BoomShake Community 1:00PM-5:00PM — "Everybody Wants To Be In Oakland"

• House/full of BlackWomen 1:00PM-5:00PM — Holding space for BIPOC women and non-binary folk to rest and engage in conversation on how insisting on our rest is a necessary strategy for our collective liberation and healing. Bring headphones and your phone to access suggested sound options for resting.

• Girls Rock Camp 2:00PM-3:00PM — Drumming + make-your-own-chant workshop for Black and Brown youth (plus open jamming time)

ART + ALTAR INSTALLATIONS:

• Afro Urban Society 1:00PM-6:00PM — Black Space: Interactive Black Ancestor Shrine + Photo Booth for Black/People of African Descent. Bring a printed photo paper of your Black ancestors to add to our shrine installation.

• Christopher Burch 10:00AM-7:00PM — Live mural painting

• Julia LaChica

• Lola Caballero

• Vivian Adriana Renteria

DANCING

DRUMMING

FOOD VENDORS

Drawing on Monica's life, love, and creativity, we will gather to celebrate their legacy and carry it forward. As we continue to learn and grow with Teacher Auntie Monica as our ancestor, BoomShake members, collaborating artists, and community participants will showcase songs, stories, musical compositions, performance pieces, visual art, and poetry.

Bring your drum + love offerings for the altar!

FRIDAY MAY 24
5:00-9:00PM
OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA
AFRICANS RISING for peace, justice and dignity.

Afro Urban Society + @Priority Africa Network + The Umoja Festival + ThriveAfrica.us + Oakland Museum of California invite you to celebrate Africa Day, the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) (now known as the African Union) on May 25, 1963.

Featuring
PIWAI
Baba Ken Okulolo and the West African Drummers
DJLeydis
Dj Mpenzi
Afro Urban Society
Africa Day Jeopardy w. Kulture Freedom
Hair Braiding Demo w. TC Hair Suite
Kids Playground Games w. Philip Agyapong & Denise Amos
Storytelling & Book Reading: Nathalie Minya

“We are determined to foster an Africa-wide solidarity and unity of purpose of the Peoples of Africa to build the Future we want – a right to peace, social inclusion and shared prosperity.”

How do we communicate across languages forgotten, forced, or adopted?
How do we connect the dust here to the concrete there?

The answer lies in our stories.

Four hundred years in the making, “Bakanal de Afrique” is an Afro Urban Festival for, about and to the African Diaspora. Bakanal de Afrique aims to give roots to a Diaspora spread across the world, and provide a platform for Africans to tell our own stories, our way.

So tell us your story.

First, choose a Decade [past, future or present]
Second, pick a Place [region, country, neighborhood]
Then, share with us an image, a journal entry, a story, a song, a thought, or the memory of a conversation that lingers with you.

JOIN US for one a few in-person writing workshops in the Bay Area, or submit your story remotely www.afrourbansociety.com/mystory
Upcoming Workshops

BdA 2018 Personal Story Writing for People of African Descent
MAY 25 | FRIDAY | 5:45-6:45PM
OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CA
FREE | SPACE IS LIMITED, Make sure to RSVP
A free workshop geared towards people of African descent of all skill levels. Just come open and willing to participate! Presented as part of Africa Day-Bay Area celebration powered by Priority Africa Network ⟐ Afro Urban Society ⟐ The Umoja Festival ⟐ ThriveAfrica.us ⟐ Bisemi Foundation

-Bakanal de Afrique 2018 is a project of Afro Urban Society generously supported by in part by Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Dancers’ Group’s CA$H grant program, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, East Bay Fund for Artists at the East Bay Community Foundation, MAP Fund & Beloved Individuals.

#AfricansRising #25May2018

Afro Urban Society + Priority Africa Network + Friday Nights at the Oakland Museum of California
Along with Africans Rising for justice, peace & dignity, join several Bay Area organizations to celebrate Africa Day (formerly African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day), the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) (now known as the African Union) on May 25, 1963. It is celebrated in various countries on the African continent, as well as around the world.

We are determined to foster an Africa-wide solidarity and unity of purpose of the Peoples of Africa to build the Future we want – a right to peace, social inclusion and shared prosperity

Featuring Priority Africa Network, Afro Urban Society, Gbedu Town Radio, Fua Dia Congo, Djayslim Martin & More

Tuesday, Feb 13th, 2018
The New Parish
Oakland, CA
ALL AGES

Starts at Henry J. Kaiser Park (corner of Rashida Muhammed Path & 18th).

Second line feat. Brass Bands, Pedicabs, plus other guest musicians