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23rd ANNUAL VIRTUAL CELEBRATION DAY
FREE ADMISSION!
Saturday 2/27/21, 10AM–4:30PM
“We gather to honor a culture rich with pride, hope, resilience and joy.
We gather to honor those who have toiled and paved the way and those that now push powerfully forward. We gather to lift spirits and touch hearts. We gather to remember, to share, and to educate. We have made our world in Iowa and we gather to celebrate.”
—Betty C. Andrews, IMMAWII Executive Director
LIVE AND IN YOUR LIVING ROOM!
Rising to the challenge presented by a pandemic, our virtual Celebration Day includes art, performances, cultural workshops, history and educational exhibits, community vendors and more!
SHOW-STOPPING HEADLINERS!
Actor and producer CHRISTIAN KEYES headlines the 2021 festival, along with entrepreneur/social media lifestyle influencer NIKKI BOYD and NYC-based African storytelling troupe YOUR QUEENS. For more about the headliners of this year’s virtual festival, click here.
DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE
Witness the premiere of A NEW VIDEO SERIES, entitled It Is My Right: Stories of African American Civil Rights in Iowa. Led by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and hosted by Betty Andrews, this docuseries this project documents oral histories and unsung Black difference-makers from throughout Iowa. It is comprised of seven segments about activism, education, employment, housing, legal history, politics and government, and social life. Read more here.
ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES & PRIZES!
PRIZES FOR EARLY BIRDS! The festival starts at 10 AM with time to get registered and familiarize your self with the virtual platform. At 10:30 AM we really get things moving with the Morning Pump Up, in conjunction with the IMMAWII Wellness Experience. Iowa fitness pros Zakiya English of Grace Fitness, Jerimiah Wright of Get it Wright Fitness, and Stephanie KantStopZumba Claytor are here to pump up your day!
FEATURED IOWA PERFORMERS
ISISERETTES DRUM & DRILL CORPS
LIZ SHARP
BRAZILLIAN 2WINS
RAMONDA BELCHER
SAY WHAT POETRY
ALL THE WAY LIVE
CULTURAL WORKSHOPS
African Americans & Tracing our Roots
Black Church: Then, Now and Next
Celebrity Chefs & Soul Food Makeovers
COVID-19, The Vaccine & The African American Community
Educating the Black Child
Entrepreneurship: Spotlight on Black Business in Iowa
Financial Fitness
Improving Health Risk Factors
Iowa’s African American Politicians
Mental Health
Movements Matter. Seeking Justice
Rediscovering Buxton: The Black Utopia of Iowa
Sports, Super Bowls & Social Justice