Thursday, August 16, 2012

Ashe Cultural Arts Center

NEWSLETTER MASTHEAD 8-2012

Ash� Cultural Arts Center Newsletter
August 2012 Schedule of Events
Barbershop Meeting
Basics of Annual Fund Campaigns
I'm Carolyn Parker: The Good, The Mad, The Beautiful (film & discussion)
4th Annual Back to School Extravaganza
Workplace Wellness Luncheon
Sistahs Making a Change
Kuumba Institute Saturday Program Registration is Open
Dear Ty,
We've made a couple of time and date changes in this month's programming. Please read on.

This month, Ash� Cultural Arts Center has something for the entire family, from a Back-to-School Extravaganza featuring school supplies and entertainment, to our monthly Workplace Wellness Luncheon designed to keep you healthy and informed. While you're thinking about getting the kids ready for school, why not add Kuumba Institute's Saturday Program Registration to the list of things to do today. Registration is now open, and space is limited.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, August 16, The Funding Seed will provide information and answer your questions at its "Basics of Annual Fund Campaigns" workshop. If you need to raise funds for your nonprofit, you'll certainly want to be there.

Then, pull your friends and family together and come see "I'm Carolyn Parker: The Good, The Mad and the Beautiful," screening August 17at 6:30 p.m.. This film documents the life and struggles of a Lower Ninth Ward resident who continues to fight for the rights of Katrina evacuees to return home. Stay after the film for a stimulating discussion.

Finally, grown folks, our weekly Barbershop Meetings bring men together for conversations and solidarity (Wednesdays) and Sistahs Making a Changesessions (Mondays & Thursdays) keep the heart pumping with good exercise and dance moves. While you're in the house, stop by Diaspora Boutique.Our end-of-the-summer sale is going on now, with prices starting at $5. The boutique carries stylish clothing and accessories for both men and women.

See you soon.

Barbershop Meeting Fathers Time

August 15, 22, 29, 2012 | 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Ash� Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

Free and open to the public

The Barbershop Meeting focuses on issues of importance to the growth and well-being, especially of young men. Men of all ages are invited to join the discussion and to give input and support based on their life experiences. This meeting affords the opportunity for goal-setting and reflections. Come and bring a few friends. Peter Nakhid leads the discussions. For more information, call (504) 569-9070.

Basics of Annual Fund CampaignsFunding Seed Logo

August 16, 2012 | 4:00-6:30 p.m.

Ash� Cultural Arts Center

1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

Registration $35

Student and group discounts are available.

Annual fund campaigns are a great way to jumpstart a nonprofit's fundraising. But how do you get started? How can you manage your campaign to raise more money? This workshop will walk you through the process of running your annual fund campaign, from Day One to the Victory Party. Registration $35. Discounts available for students and for organizations registering two or more people. For questions, to inquire about discount codes or to reserve your seat and pay at the door, email info@thefundingseed.com.Attendees will receive a certificate of participation for completing the workshop.

Film Screening & Discussion: I'm Carolyn Parker: The Good, The Mad, and the BeautifulCarolyn Parker

August 17, 2012 | 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Ash� Cultural Arts Center

1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

Free and open to the public

The New Orleans Film Society, the Ash� Cultural Arts Center, POV, and WYES New Orleans present a screening of the documentary and 2011 NOFF selection I'm Carolyn Parker: The Good, The Mad, and the Beautiful, directed by Academy-Award-winner Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Rachel Getting Married). The screening will be followed by a Q&A with author and producer Daniel Wolff.


About the film: Carolyn Parker was the last to leave her neighborhood when a mandatory evacuation order was decreed as Hurricane Katrina approached New Orleans in the summer of 2005. After the floodwaters subsided, Mrs. Parker was the first resident to return to her now flood-devastated community with what many thought was the "impossible dream" of bringing her ruined home back to life. I'm Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful unfolds as an inspiring portrait of an extraordinary woman. Mrs. Parker takes us deep inside her personal biography as a child born in the 40's, raised in segregated New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, who became a teen-ager joining the front lines in the Civil Rights movement of the 60's, who worked for thirty years as a cook-turned-chef in the hotel industry, and became one of the most outspoken voices in the fight for every New Orleanian's right to return home after the devastation of the floods that followed Katrina. WATCH THE TRAILER.

Call (504) 569-9070.

4th Annual Back to School ExtravaganzaSchool Zone Sign

August 25, 2012 | Noon-4:00 p.m.
Ash� Cultural Arts Center, 1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

Free and open to the public

The Dinerral Shavers Educational Fund (DSEF) and its partners at Tulane University are pleased to announce plans for its 4th Annual Back to School Extravaganza. This event is a free school supply giveaway targeted towards all New Orleans students, and will include food, music, entertainment, bloodpressure screenings, cholesterol screenings, child health screenings, and more.

The event will feature live performances by: Baby Boyz Brass Band, Luther Gray & Bamboula 2000, School Boys, Triune, LOS, McDonogh #35 Cheerleaders, Stephanie C. and more, with a special finale performance by the Hot 8 Brass Band. There will be motivational speakers, tons of giveaways, surprise guest, and kids will be able to meet and greet their favorite cartoon characters such as; Dora the Explorer, Sponge Bob, and Elmo. In return, we are encouraging New Orleans citizens to donate can goods and non-perishable food items to our 2nd Harvest Food Drive in support of disaster victims. The focus of this year's Extravaganza is to promote the culture of music education in New Orleans. Call (504) 569-9070.

Workplace Wellness Luncheon

Take Your Loved One to the Doctor

August 30, 2012 | Noon-1:30 p.m.
Ash� Cultural Arts Center | 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
Free and open to the public

Speaker: Melody Robinson, MPH. Sponsored by St. Thomas Community Center

Do you love me. Do you really love me. The best gift you can give me is good health. This month's topic will discuss the wheres, the whens, and the whats of a doctor's visit. Call (504) 569-9070 and let us know you're coming.

Sistahs Making a ChangeSistahs Making A Change

6:00 - 8:00 p.m. | Every Monday and Thursday

Ash� Cultural Arts Center | 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

New Orleans

Free and open to the public

Regular dance class will be taught at 6:00 p.m. each Monday and Thursday by professional dancer and choreographer Giselle Nakhid.

A featured guest dance instructor joins us monthly for the 7:00 p.m. classes on Thursdays. Dance offerings change monthly and include instruction in African, Salsa, Haitian, Tap, Line Dance, Secondline, and more. So come have some fun while you get fit with the "sistahs," exercising and dancing your way to wellness. The program is directed by Jamilah Peters Muhammad, a registered nurse and professional dancer, who handles all aspects of programming, such as dance, educational films, nutrition, and health and wellness. Monday at 7 p.m., enjoy an interesting seminar or film. A nutritious meal is served after each class. No dance experience required. For more information, call (504) 569-9070, or just show up ready to move.


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Monday, August 6, 2012

The Fruitful Planter

The Fruitful Planter A smart and fruitful farmer invests in his product right from the seed and the dirt. We take care in choosing the right products to bring forth the most delicious and fruitful bounty. Dirt, fertilizer, water, pest control, location, amount of light, etc. all must be given careful though and preparation in predetermining the outcome of the farmer/planter/gardener investment. Prosperity spiritual work must be addressed with the same care and fervor. Our culture encourages getting the most or the least amount of investment: Paying for Tuna (on the cheap) but expecting caviar. This is not the approach a holistic farmer takes for reaping optimum harvesting reward. The Hoodoo and Obeah know and understand the process of working with Nature and reaping bountiful harvest. An efficient practitioner understands the subtle changes in season and how to gain the most advantageous rewards. We understand the magic and alchemy present in the balance of prosperity in the Elements.


Monday, July 30, 2012

RIGHT NOW! at Ash�

Newsletter Heading Updated

Dear Ty,

FREE ZEPHYRS TICKETS FOR TONIGHT'S BASEBALL GAME.
Zephyrs
Ash� Cultural Arts Center has a limited amount of
FREE TICKETS
available for tonight's (July 30, 2012)
Zephyrs vs Iowa Baseball Game
and we're making them available only to our members.
The game takes place tonight at Zephyrs Field at 7:00 p.m.
If you would like to attend, please call Tammy at (504) 569-9070.
You can pick up your tickets at
Ash� Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.,
until 6:00 p.m. tonight.
Tickets are available until we run out,
so call right now and reserve yours.
THANK YOU FOR BEING A LOYAL MEMBER OF ASH�,
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON.

Sistahs Making a ChangeSistahs Making A Change

6:00 - 8:00 p.m. | Every Monday and Thursday

Ash� Cultural Arts Center | 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.,

New Orleans

Free and open to the public

Regular dance class will be taught at 6:00 p.m. each Monday and Thursday by professional dancer and choreographer Giselle Nakhid.

A featured guest dance instructor joins us monthly for the 7:00 p.m. classes on Thursdays. Dance offerings change monthly and include instruction in African, Salsa, Haitian, Tap, Line Dance, Secondline, and more. So come have some fun while you get fit with the "sistahs," exercising and dancing your way to wellness. The program is directed by Jamilah Peters Muhammad, a registered nurse and professional dancer, who handles all aspects of programming, such as dance, educational films, nutrition, and health and wellness. Monday at 7 p.m., enjoy an interesting seminar or film. A nutritious meal is served after each class. No dance experience required. For more information, call (504) 569-9070, or just show up ready to move.



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Thursday, June 14, 2012

June at Ash� Cultural Arts Center

Grantwriting for Beginners

June 14, 2012 | 4:00-6:30 p.m.
Ash� Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
Registration $35
Student and group discounts are available.

Are you involved with a non-profit? Does your job require you to raise funds for your department or position? Do you want to add a valuable skill to your resume? Consider grantwriting!

Grantwriting for Beginners is an engaging workshop that gives you the basic tools you need to start writing grants. Participants will learn how to find funding opportunities, tools and tips for writing proposals and ways to make a program competitive for repeat funding.

Who should attend: Nonprofit staff, board members and volunteers, students and people in academic fields, activists and community organizers, religious leaders, anyone who wants to learn about the exciting world of grantwriting! Attendees will receive a certificate of participation after completing the workshop.

Registration $35 per person. Discounts available for students and organizations registering two or more people. Visit thefundingseed.com to register online. Email info@thefundingseed.com to inquire about discount codes or to reserve your space and pay at the door.

Click here to register online.


Moroccan Caravan
Moroccan Carpet Weavers Workshop is SOLD OUT!
However, you are invited to join us at the
Presentation and Carpet Sale
June 28 at 7:00 p.m. at Ash�

June 28 | 7:00 p.m.

Ash� Cultural Arts Center | 1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., NOLA

Presentation and Carpet Sale: Free and open to the public.

The Moroccan Carpet Caravan 2012 brings two Tamazight carpet weavers and their translator from the Valley of the Roses to Ash� Cultural Arts Center, June 25-29, 2012. Ash� is the first of four stops on a North American tour of carpet art events. The weavers will teach carpet weaving on traditional wooden looms built especially for the occasion, present a colorful carpet exhibition, and offer a cross-cultural presentation. The workshop will teach basic weaving skills in the indigenous traditions of North Africa not offered anywhere else in the United States.
Morrocan carpets are incredible works of art, created entirely by hand with eco-friendly materials. Students will weave their own rag rug with the visiting instructors.
A free public presentation about Amazigh culture and traditions takes place on Thursday, June 28 at 7:00 p.m. The opening of the carpet exhibition and sale happens at 8:00 p.m. Moroccan mint tea will be served.
Hamid Drake, in town for a National Performance Network (NPN) residency with Ash� Cultural Arts Center, will perform on the night of the presentation.

For more information call Tammy Terrell at (504) 569-9070.

Black folk don't
"Black Folk Don't"

June 26, 2012 | Screening: 6:30 p.m

Ash� Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

Free and open to the public

The New Orleans Film Society and BlackPublicMedia present the premiere of the second season of the web series Black Folk Don't on Tuesday, June 26, at 6:30 p.m. at Ashe Cultural Arts Center. The screening is FREE and open to the public and will include a post-screening Q+A with series creator and director Angela Tucker.

Featured in Time Magazine's "10 Ideas That Are Changing Your Life," Black Folk Don't is an irreverent documentary web series exploring the grey areas between stereotype and truth. Black Folk Don't questions the notion of normative behavior and comes to the conclusion that black folk don't agree on what blacks do and don't do.

This season, the team travelled to Louisiana to get New Orleanians' take on six new topics voted on by viewers. These topics include camping, eating disorders and more. Interviewees include Melissa Harris Perry and Toure. Click here to watch the trailer. Call (504) 569-9070.


Germaine Bazzle
"Healing Force" - Live Concert & Recording Session
June 29, 2012 | 7:00 p.m.
Ash� Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
$20
Every once in a while, something really special happens that makes you want to call some old friends. Get ready to pick up the phone, because you won't want them to miss this live concert and recording session. Ash� Cultural Arts Center is putting together a compilation CD featuring Germaine Bazzle, Carol Bebelle, Frederick "Hollywood" Delahoussaye, Hamid Drake, Michaela Harrison, Kidd Jordan, Kora Konnection, Darryl Lavigne, Monica McIntyre, William Parker, Kalamu ya Salaam and others. But this is New Orleans, so expect to see lots of musicians on the scene.
This live recording session brings together great artists who are steeped in New Orleans culture, and fuses them with the likes of Drake and Parker, both incredible artists of international acclaim. Master Drummer Luther Gray takes the lead toward making this a "must-see" concert that will produce a "must-have" work of art.
For more information, call Luther at (504) 569-9070.

Hamid Drake
Celebration of the Drum

Celebration of the Drum features internationally acclaimed percussionist Hamid Drake, who appears as part of his National Performance Network (NPN) residency with Ash� Cultural Arts Center. This celebration is a healing event using the drum and worldwide rhythms to help transform our community through art. Percussionists and drummers from around the world will take turns expressing themselves by way of the rhythms of their countries.

HAMID DRAKE AT SISTAHS MAKING A CHANGE

June 28, 2012 | 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Ash� Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

Free

Participants in Sistahs Making a Change will have the opportunity to interact with Hamid Drake, put movement to his rhythms and engage in a discussion or story circle. Make some time to hang out with the Sistahs and meet Hamid. It's free, and you'll be glad you did. Call (504) 569-9070.

CELEBRATION OF THE DRUM

June 30, 2012 | 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Ash� Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

$20

This event celebrates the drums of Africa, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, India, Ireland, Japan, and the Mardi Gras Indians. Hear and feel world beats along with the sensational featured artist, Hamid Drake. If you're wanting to do something a little different on a Saturday night, this is your best bet. Are you a drummer and want to join in the celebration? Call John Grimsley or Tammy Terrell at (504) 569-9070. Click here to purchase your ticket online. Tickets are also available at Ash� Cultural Arts Center.

DRUM CIRCLE

July 1, 2012 | 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Congo Square/Armstrong Park

Free and open to the public

Drummers, dancers and the community combine their voices, dance moves and drum beats at this weekly ceremony held on the sacred grounds of Congo Square. Congo Square is the place where slaves were allowed to assemble and hold their celebrations on Sundays. On this particular Sunday, however, we're holding a prelude to our Annual Maafa Commemoration which happens the following week. Guest artists will join us as the drums feed our souls and connect us to one another. Come out and experience the rhythms. For more information, call Luther Gray, Congo Square Preservation Society, at (504) 495-0463.

_____________________________________________________

Hamid Drake is in town for a National Performance Network (NPN) residency with Ash� Cultural Arts Center. Celebration of the Drum, the Healing Force Concert and Recording Session, and other Ash�-related appearances are a part of his residency.

NPN[Ash� Cultural Arts Center is an NPN Partner of the National Performance Network (NPN). This project is made possible in part by support from the NPN Performance Residency Program. Major contributors of NPN include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), the MetLife Foundation and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.]


Red + Black = Maroon II

"Quilombolas de Maranhao, Brazil & Maroons of Louisiana, USA"

Exhibit opens June 19, 2012 | 5:00 p.m.
Ash� Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
Free and open to the public.
RED + BLACK = MAROON II, a touring exhibition, includes:

Photographs by Cristina Miranda of the daily life of the Quilombolas of Maranhao, Brazil. Quilombos are the "runaway" or "Maroon" settlements in Brazil. Maranhao has over 200 of them. Within, we find resonances of cultural preservation and a rustic way of life that not only offers us a glimpse into the profound cultural practices and traditions of Africans, and Inidigenous Americans, but of the fused/Creole culture that they have forged. This process of Creolization is parallel to Louisiana. We find that their "country" music Forro is almost identical to our Zydeco. We also find that their Bumba Meu Boi is parallel to the Mardi Gras Indian traditions of New Orleans and other parts of the Caribbean and Latin America. The African/Kongo-based culture of the Bamboula, so historically significant here in Louisiana, is parallel to their Tambor de Criolla.

This exhibit, therefore, represents the beginning of an academic, educational, performative, artistic and celebratory cultural exchange between Brazil and the United States, between the State of Louisiana and the State of Maranhao, and connecting the "Maroons" / Black Indians of the Americas across continents and oceans.

The exhibit will also include original artwork from Ivan B. Watkins and others, as well as data from the Hidden Heritage Tours of Leon Waters.

PROGRAMMING

Programming for the Exhibit will include screenings of a documentary series in progress, ethno-historical lectures, panels, as well as workshops and a multi-media Jazz performance.

The programming will also include a fundraiser to be held at the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

Dates, locations, times and additional partners will be publicized shortly.

Call (504) 569-9070.


Chakula Then and Now
On Stage - "Growing Up Black and Happy in New Orleans . . . The Life and Times of the Great Chakula"

June 15, 16, 22 and 23, 2012 | 8:00 p.m.
June 17 and 24, 2012 | 3:00 p.m.
Ash� Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
Gen. Admission $10, Students and seniors $5
Growing Up Black (and Happy) in New Orleans ... The Life and Times of the Great Chakula is a one-man comedy, dramatic show featuring actor, playwright, director, storyteller and retired comedian Chakula cha Jua telling his life story, on stage, "live and in color." No names have been changed to protect the guilty.
Tired of viewing too many TV shows and movies that suggest all Black people come from criminal, drug infested, deplorable backgrounds, cha Jua decided it was time to set the record straight. He could think of no better way to do that than by telling the story of his own "happy" upbringing. In telling his story, cha Jua will take the audience on a tour of a segregated New Orleans of the fifties and early sixties. Through telling his own personal stories, cha Jua hopes to use this production to explore and examine a part of Black New Orleans History that has never before been viewed on local stages.
For more information, call (504) 569-9070, (504) 304-0429 or (504) 813-9008.



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