Kwanzaa Fest Steps Up for Winter Show
The Step Team, performing here at the Homecoming game, will be one of the highlights of Kwanzaa Fest. Photo: Daniella Charles
By TREY WOODBINE
After three years of Covid restrictions turned cultural festivals at Midwood upside down, the Black Heritage Alliance has been working hard to revive Kwanzaa Fest with the hope of making it the best one yet.
Kwanzaa Festival, a celebration of African American culture that includes acting, dancing, modeling, gospel, step, and art, has been a yearly tradition at Midwood since 1989. This year's festival is on December 21, right before the long awaited winter break, leaving students with the perfect send off.
Co-presidents Moriah Fender ‘23 and Faith Matthew ‘23, along with managing BHA, are also tasked with the heavy load of directing the show after its sabbatical with a new batch of talent.
“It’s a lot but we’re managing,” Fender said. “It's going better than I thought it would after last year. I’m super proud of our administration.”
The BHA dedicates the work they’ve done to the seniors before them who helped create the plot for this year's show, as well as the directors and their advisors, Ms. Marie Volcy, Ms. Laura Gavenda, Ms. Kirmaka Scarlett, and Ms. Princessa Dominique, members said.
“Administration and staff are just as instrumental to our show coming together as the students are,” Matthew said.
Though the BHA had less than two months to put together the entire performance, it’s nothing they can't handle.
“It’s the timeline that’s murdering us,” Co-Stage Director Sabastian Senior ’23 said.
“It’s been very chaotic, and definitely there’s a long way to go with gospel and filling in,” Matthew said. “But I feel like we can do it and definitely people after us can do it. And that's what’s most important to me, preserving the legacy of Kwanzaa Fest.”
Step Director Daniella Charles ’23 leads the percussive, high energy, floor pounding team that is one of the show's biggest crowd pleasers.
“Step has been both a great and stressful experience,” Charles said. “We’re quickly approaching December 21, and it’s been a rush after getting the full step team [in November]. However, it has been great to teach others the steps I know to continue the step team for years to come.”
“So far, art has been making a lot of progress towards the show,” Co-Art Director Bryanna Rambharose ’23 said. “As a director, it does get stressful at times, but I am so glad to be a part of this community and surrounded by people who, like me, just like to draw.”
With the continuous need for people in gospel choir and praise dancing, promotion for Kwanzaa Fest has been a top priority.
“I would definitely say recruiting is the most difficult part because you need people to have a show, and if you don't have enough people, I don't want to say there's not a show, but it's not as strong as it could be,” Matthew said.
Though the journey of reviving this cultural fest hasn’t been easy, the values and representation brought by the show are enough to motivate the BHA to keep going.
Gospel choir member Joanna Dujor ’23 and stage crew member Mario Wint ’23 stressed the significance of Kwanzaa Fest and its teaching moments for the Midwood student population.
“It’s important for other people to know what our culture stands for,” Dujor said. “It helps us retain our culture so we don’t let go of it.”
“Kwanzaa Fest hasn't been a thing for three years and I really want to put my culture out there and show Midwood what it's all about,” Wint said.
Students have been able to build connections with each other inside and outside the classroom with the hope to maintain the tradition. Fender expressed how people “shouldn’t worry about the time [spent at practice] because when you make your friends in the club, time goes by fast.”
“It’s time consuming, yes, but when we start to get our stuff done it’s been a lot of fun,” Wint said.
The BHA has worked tirelessly to get this show where it needs to be.
“For black students in Midwood, seeing your culture represented on stage in such a beautiful way is important,” Matthew said. “The values of Kwanzaa are applicable to every racial and ethnic community, and also to Midwood as a school community.”
Be sure to come to the auditorium and watch this year's colorful, long-awaited renewal on December 21.