Bronx Children's Museum Summer Under the Stars Gala to Celebrate Distinguished New Yorkers

On September 7, 2023, Bronx Children’s Museum will host its 2023 Summer Under The Stars Gala at The Lighthouse, Pier 61, Chelsea Piers, New York City from 6pm to 10pm.

This year’s honorees are chef Kwame Onwuachi, artist Saya Woolfalk and news anchor Ruschell Boone. Event Co-Chairs areSunny Hostin and Sonia Manzano.  The emcee of the event will be 11-year-old Samara Osae-Asare. Event Committee (in formation) includes: Arlene Bascom, Bronx Children’s Museum President; Rafael Collado; Kate Green; Hope Harley; April Horton; Lee Michel and Paul Ramirez.

"This year's Summer Under The Stars Gala celebrates the brilliance and resilience of our honorees, reminding us that every child's potential is a constellation waiting to be explored," shared Denise Rosario Adusei, Executive Director of Bronx Children’s Museum.

Bronx Children’s Museum 2023 Gala Honorees

Kwame Onwuachi is a celebrated restaurateur, acclaimed author of the memoir "Notes from a Young Black Chef,” James Beard award-winning chef and owner of Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi, rated #1 restaurant in NYC 2023 by the New York Times. Raised in the Bronx, he has been named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs, Esquire's 2019 Chef of the Year, and a 30 Under 30 honoree by both Zagat and Forbes. Kwame serves as Food & Wine's Executive Producer and recently released his first-ever, critically acclaimed cookbook "My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef," featuring more than 125 recipes handed down through Onwuachi's own family history, spanning Nigeria to the Caribbean, the South to the Bronx, and beyond. His restaurant, "Tatiana" opened at Lincoln Center in 2022 and celebrates the culinary spectrum of his New York upbringing while being rooted in the African Diaspora. Tatiana has received numerous accolades, including "#1 Restaurant in New York" by the New York Times and "The One to Watch" by World's 50 Best Restaurants.

Saya Woolfalk, acclaimed multimedia artist and educator, is a featured artist in Bronx Children's Museum Arts Builds Community Collection.  Saya creates art that shows the African-American, European-American, and Japanese influences of her family background. Her paintings, videos, sculptures and performances also include influences from mythology, science fiction and fashion, which combine to imagine fantastical new worlds. Saya has exhibited internationally at museums, galleries and alternative spaces and is the recipient of numerous honors, awards and commissions.

Bronxite Ruschell Boone is a multi-Emmy award winning journalist at Spectrum News NY1. She is the daytime Anchor and Host of "News All Day," a one-hour program that highlights news, politics, health and wellness, education and Entertainment.  Ruschell started her on-camera career at the station in 2002 as the Queens Beat Reporter. She was affectionately known as "The People's Reporter" before moving to the anchor chair in 2021.  Many of her stories, including her work during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, have gained national and social media attention with several of her interviews going viral. Ruschell's most watched story was her exclusive interview with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after her stunning Democratic primary win in 2018. That interview is now featured in the Netflix documentary "Knock Down the House" and the Hulu documentary "Hillary."  Ruschell is a native of Kingston, Jamaica.  She is also a wife and mother of two.

Bronx Children’s Museum 2023 Gala Emcee

Introducing Bronx's rising star, Samara Osae-Asare (IG: @samatime12)! At just 11 years old, Samara has made history as Ghana's youngest host on "Kidz Arena," the nation's first kids' news show. Her journey began in the Bronx, where her passion for journalism ignited early. With remarkable dedication, she's interviewed global personalities like Jack Dorsey, Usher, Vic Mensa, and Chance The Rapper. Samara is an honor roll student and avid reader, with dreams of becoming a prolific journalist and author. She is well on her way. A beacon of Bronx pride, she's also a YouTube sensation with over 2,900 subscribers (@samatime12). Bridging continents with her charm and charisma, Samara embodies the limitless potential of youth.

Sponsors

BronxCare, Kimelman & Baird, Open Society Foundations, Chelsea Poirier, Ileana Vargas Rodríguez and José A. Rodríguez, Kerry Washington, Verizon

TICKET & SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION:  Tickets for the gala start at $750; Tables start at $6,000. For more information, contact Carolyn Schwartz at carolyn@bronxchildrensmuseum.org or call (718) 775-3106.

The Bronx Children's Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring children and families to explore their cultural identities, celebrate Bronx pride, and help build a bright future for themselves and their communities. Through interactive exhibits, innovative programs, and community outreach, the Museum nurtures the next generation of artists, thinkers, and change-makers.  Bronx Children’s Museum opened the borough’s first-ever children’s museum facility in a new 13,650 square-foot facility in the South Bronx in a historic NYC-owned building along the Harlem River in December 2022. The award-winning facility features interactive exhibits where families can play, learn and explore, as well as a fine art collection comprised of site-specific installations by Bronx-connected artists. Steps from Yankee Stadium and Bronx Terminal Market, the multicultural, Bronx-inspired children’s museum is geared to children from infancy to nine years old.  Since 2010, prior to the facility’s opening, Museum educators engaged more than 150,000 children and families in science and arts-based programming at 774 different community events and 103 educational institutions.