AMNH Announces Kwanzaa Celebration On 12/30

The flare and pageantry of 20 drummers from the Brooklyn United Marching Band, and an electric performance by Vy Higginsen's Sing Harlem Choir, will open this year's Kwanzaa Celebration. Artistic Director of Yaffa Cultural Arts Dr. Linda H. Humes will take visitors through the core principles of Kwanzaa, followed by gospel-infused tunes from a cappella legends The Persuasions.

New York's The Persuasions are a renowned a cappella vocal ensemble. The Persuasions formed in 1962 singing do-wop on Bedford Stuyvesant's street corners. They have recorded 26 albums to date, from 1970's A Cappella to their 2017 release Ladies and Gentlemen: Barenaked Ladies & the Persuasions. Known for soulful arrangements of old favorites such as "People Get Ready" and "Up on the Roof," the group has appeared with many other performers through the years and supplied harmonies for artists such as Liza Minnelli, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, and Joni Mitchell. The Persuasions continue to tour and appear live.

The festival will also include an international marketplace.

Support for Kwanzaa 2017 is provided, in part, by the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc.; the Sidney, Milton and Leoma Simon Foundation; and the family of Frederick H. Leonhardt.

Kwanzaa 2017 is co-presented by Community Works and New Heritage Theatre Group. The Kwanzaa marketplace is organized by the Harlem Arts Alliance

Saturday, December 30 Noon to 5 pm. Milstein Hall of Ocean Life American Museum of Natural History. Free for Members or with Museum Admission