![\"Celebrate](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Celebrate-Kwanzaa-2024-photo-credit-Winston-Williams-Brooklyn-Childrens-Museum-3.jpg\")
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The Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum is celebrating Kwanzaa with music, art and dance.<\/p>\n
Photo by Winston Williams\/Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum<\/p>\n
Dec. 26 marks the first day of Kwanzaa, and the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum<\/a> in Crown Heights, in partnership with the Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation<\/a>, is inviting families and the community to New York City\u2019s largest family Kwanzaa celebration. The event spans five days of the seven-day secular holiday.<\/p>\n The celebration of African American heritage, culture and ancestry was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966, and the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum has been bringing the vibrant traditions, powerful principles and joyous spirit of Kwanzaa to life for the past 18 years.<\/p>\n Atiba T. Edwards, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum, said he is looking forward to \u201canother incredible year\u201d alongside the Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit committed to educating, uplifting and immersing the community in African arts.<\/p>\n \u201cFor 18 years, our Celebrate Kwanzaa festival has been a powerful celebration of community, culture, and the African diaspora, right here in the heart of Brooklyn. BCM takes great pride in this being one of the longest-running and largest celebrations of Kwanzaa across NYC,\u201d Edwards said in a statement. \u201cAsase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation brings authentic artistry and deep cultural knowledge to the festival, and we\u2019re excited for another incredible year.\u201d<\/p>\n Kofi Osei Williams, executive director of the Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation, said the partnership reflects the meaning of the holiday.<\/p>\n \u201cPartnering with Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum for this celebration is an honor for us because Kwanzaa is rooted in everything we stand for: community, culture, and connection,\u201d Williams said. \u201cEach year, we have the opportunity to share our traditions with new generations and remind families that the principles of Kwanzaa are not just seasonal, but a way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n Council Member Rita Joseph, whose district includes Crown Heights, noted that Kwanzaa is a call to honor African American heritage and ancestry.\n<\/p>\n \u201cKwanzaa is a powerful reminder of who we are and what we owe to one another,\u201d Joseph said. \u201cRooted in the Nguzo Saba unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith; it calls us to honor our shared history, uplift our culture, and recommit ourselves to building strong, thriving communities for our children and future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Honoring the seven principles of Kwanzaa \u2014 unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith \u2014 the museum invites children of all ages to participate in workshops and experience engaging performances through Dec. 30. Activities include Afrobeat, dancehall and soca dance workshops; a djembe (West African hand drum) drumming workshop; stilt walker and youth dance performances; an herbal sensory exploration with Brooklyn Supported Agriculture Community<\/a>; and traditional candle-lighting ceremonies and Kwanzaa sing-alongs.<\/p>\n Here is a lineup of activities from Dec. 26 to Dec. 30 at the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum:\n<\/p>\n Djembe Drumming<\/p>\n A fun, interactive percussion workshop exploring the importance of the djembe and how to play the iconic West African drum.\n<\/p>\n All days, 12:45\u20131:10 p.m. and 4\u20134:25 p.m.\n<\/p>\n Procession to Auditorium\n<\/p>\n A lively parade from the lobby to the auditorium, led by Moko Jumbie stilt walkers and drummers.\n<\/p>\n All days, 10:30\u201310:40 a.m. and 2:30\u20132:40 p.m.\n<\/p>\n Rise Up! Interactive Kwanzaa Concert and Candle Lighting\n<\/p>\n A participatory performance immersing audiences in the sights and sounds of Kwanzaa traditions. The concert features music, dance and cultural symbolism, including djembe and Caribbean folk percussion, African diasporic dance traditions and an interactive Kwanzaa song.<\/p>\n All days, 10:45\u201311:10 a.m. and 2:45\u20133:10 p.m.\n<\/p>\n Unity Cups\n<\/p>\n Participants can join ColorLab to create a Kikombe cha Umoja, or unity cup.\n<\/p>\n All days, 10:15 a.m.\u201312:15 p.m. and 1:30\u20135 p.m.\n<\/p>\n Sink or Swim\n<\/p>\n Nature\u2019s Engineers teaches children how to make objects float by building floating structures and testing their buoyancy and stability.\n<\/p>\n All days, 10:30 a.m.\u20131 p.m. and 2:30\u20135 p.m. Kwanzaa Cookie Decoration<\/p>\n Participants can join Je T\u2019aime Bakery to decorate Kwanzaa-themed cookies.\n<\/p>\n Dec. 27, 3\u20133:30 p.m. and 4\u20134:30 p.m.\n<\/p>\n Herb Sensory Explorer Table\n<\/p>\n Brooklyn Supported Agriculture leads a sensory exploration of fresh herbs, highlighting their unique textures, scents and shapes.\n<\/p>\n Dec. 29, 11 a.m.\u20134 p.m.\n<\/p>\n Visitors can participate in all Kwanzaa activities with a general admission ticket to the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum. Tickets cost $15 for children and adults, $14 for grandparents, and are free for children under 1. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit brooklynkids.org\/kwanzaa<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum is celebrating Kwanzaa with music, art and dance. Photo by Winston Williams\/Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[23074,16272,28308,98,9346,100,99,40405,40406,40407,40408,40409,31940,40410,9,24,12,370,63],"class_list":{"0":"post-81830","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-african-culture","9":"tag-asase-yaa-cultural-arts-foundation","10":"tag-atiba-t-edwards","11":"tag-brooklyn","12":"tag-brooklyn-childrens-museum","13":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","14":"tag-brooklyn-news","15":"tag-brooklyn-supported-agriculture-community","16":"tag-council-member-rita-joseph","17":"tag-dr-maulana-karenga","18":"tag-first-fruits","19":"tag-kofi-osei-williams","20":"tag-kwanzaa","21":"tag-kwanzaa-celebration","22":"tag-new-york","23":"tag-new-york-city","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-newsletter","26":"tag-nyc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Celebrate-Kwanzaa-2024-photo-credit-Winston-Williams-Brooklyn-Childrens-Museum-6.jpg\")
Performers showcase African diasporic dance traditions during the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum\u2019s multi-day Kwanzaa celebration.Photo by Winston Williams\/Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Celebrate-Kwanzaa-2024-photo-credit-Winston-Williams-Brooklyn-Childrens-Museum-5.jpg\")
Performers entertain families during the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum\u2019s multi-day Kwanzaa celebration.Photo by Winston Williams\/Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Celebrate-Kwanzaa-2024-photo-credit-Winston-Williams-Brooklyn-Childrens-Museum-2.jpg\")
Children take part in a hands-on djembe drumming workshop as part of the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum\u2019s Kwanzaa celebration.Photo by Winston Williams\/Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum\n<\/p>\n