Perhaps your child has come to you asking about Kwanzaa, but you have a few questions yourself . . . what should you tell your child about Kwanzaa? What is Kwanzaa? How did it start? Should your family celebrate Kwanzaa?
Perhaps you're not sure how to celebrate Kwanzaa and want to know a little more about it. You're in luck! Click on What is Kwanzaa? and you will find a detailed guide to Kwanzaa which should answer all your questions. Kwanzaa is now celebrated by more than ten million people in the U.S., and more than thirty million worldwide. You may want to read your child a delightful Kwanzaa story, Tamika's First Kwanzaa.
And of course you're invited to the Kwanzaa Festival in Trinidad, W.I. if you're lucky enough to be in the Caribbean for the holidays. It will be held on January 1, 2005 at the Cocoyea Community Centre starting at 4P.M. If you are hosting a Kwanzaa event in Trinidad, please contact me so that I can post your event on this website.
In Washington, D.C. you're invited to the Kwanzaa Children's Party to celebrate Kwanzaa with the D.C. community! The Kwanzaa Children's Party has provided thousands of children with fun, food and gifts without charging them a dime . . . the party is funded entirely through donations. Please Donate To the Children's Party and help hundreds of kids have a happy Kwanzaa.
One excellent way to get into the Kwanzaa Spirit is to attend one of the dozens of Kwanzaa activities held in your area each year. Most of these programs are free, and provide a wonderful introduction to Kwanzaa. It's easy for you to join your community in the celebration; check local newspapers and websites for times and locations. The D.C. Kwanzaa Planning Committee (301) 277-7809 publishes a free calendar listing major D.C. Kwanzaa events each year in early December.
For those outside the Washington area, information on Kwanzaa is available on the internet. Do a Google search for the word "Kwanzaa" and you will find hundreds of thousands of websites with information, games, coloring books, music, recipes and more. Dr. Maulana Karenga, the man who created Kwanzaa, has an "Official Kwanzaa Website". At www.melanet.com; they have a national calendar of Kwanzaa events and lots of Kwanzaa information and products. You should also find dozens of Kwanzaa links at www.netnia.com/plays/kwanzaalinks.htm on the NetNia webpage.
Kwanzaa supplies, kinaras (candle holders), mkekas (straw mats), candles and other things can be ordered on the web or purchased in your local African handicraft store. Books, posters, decorations and flags help turn your house into Kwanzaa Central for the holidays!
Bring your child to the Kwanzaa Children's Party, held on the last Saturday of every year by K.C.P. Inc. For thirty-four years the Children's Party has provided a fun way to introduce your child to the meaning of Kwanzaa. Your family can participate in games, songs, music and a child-oriented Kwanzaa candle lighting ceremony. The party is free of charge.
If you would like to volunteer to blow up balloons, serve food or entertain at the Kwanzaa Children's Party, your participation or donation would be greatly appreciated. Call Yao at (202) 291-3399 or Nkechi at (202) 363-5887.
We hope this guide will answer all your questions and start your family on a joyous celebration of Kwanzaa. If you wish more information, several excellent books about Kwanzaa may be found at your local bookstore, library or at www.melanet.com.
It's hard for those of us who were there in 1969 to believe, but this year's Kwanzaa Children's Party will be our 35th! We are possibly the oldest continuing Kwanzaa celebration in the world!
We've had the joy of watching thousands of children experience their first Kwanzaa celebration. We've seen a whole generation of those children grow up and bring a new generation, their children, to their first Kwanzaa Party.
Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 by Maulana Ron Karenga, a California professor who based the holiday on the Nzugo Saba, the Seven Principles of Blackness. Three years later the first Kwanzaa Children's Party was held at 936 P Street N.W., the home of Ike Okoya. Music for that party, and for every party until 1995, was provided by the Master Drummer, Baba Ngoma.
Mama Nkechi Taifa soon joined to host the Kwanzaa candle lighting ceremony, forming the team that would sponsor the Kwanzaa Children's Party for the next twenty five years. By the mid-1970's the party had been moved to larger quarters at Watoto Shule, 770 Park Road N.W.; it would be held there almost every year thereafter. Yao Enun joined the team producing the party, and he provided party decorations and Africentric entertainment.
By the 1980's, the party was hosting more than three hundred children a year, as well as hundreds of parents. Mama Tulani Okoya began baking her tremendously popular cakes for the party in the early 90's. Kwanzaa Children's Party Inc. was formed to organize the party, and a Board of Directors named. The current board includes Yao Enun, Nkechi Taifa, Ike Okoya, Tulani Okoya, Lasana Mack and Leslie Shakuur.
For the twenty fifth anniversary, we held the biggest Kwanzaa Children's Party ever; temporarily moving the party to an even larger space, the Boys and Girls Club at 261-17th Street S.E. (at 17th and Massachusetts S.E.). This provided entertainment for more than five hundred pre-teen children and their parents, with new games, prizes and entertainment.
Beginning in 1995 Baba Lasana Mack and his team of youthful drummers has electrified the party with their energetic musical renditions which set the spirit of the Kwanzaa Party. For Y2Kwanzaa on January 1, 2000 Yao Enun took over as leader of the K.C.P. Drummers
Kwanzaa Children's Party 2004 will be held this year at the Peoples Congregational United Church, 4704-13th Street N.W.; Washington, D.C. at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday, January 1, 2005.
We wish you and your family a very Happy Kwanzaa, and look forward to seeing you at the Kwanzaa Children's Party or the Trini Kwanzaa Festival!
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