For the Month of the Child, come watch this 55-minute program from Michigan Public Television. Joan Almon, director of the Alliance for Young Children, will lead discussion.

Cherie Weinert performs in this one-woman historical drama about Rosalie Calvert, who married into the Calvert family and became mistress of the Riversdale estate in the early nineteenth century.

It is particularly appropriate that the show will be performed in the Old Parish House, which was built as part of the Calvert estate in 1817 -- originally as a dairy barn.

This show was sold out at the Clarice Smith Center in 2006.

To reserve your ticket, please send $5 per ticket to PO Box 784, College Park, MD 20740.

Friday, February 8, 2008, 7:30 pm
Old Parish House, 4711 Knox Road, College Park
"Cowrie Shells West African Dance and Drum Ensemble” will lead this participatory drum circle involving West African rhythms and basic dance steps traditionally performed at West African community events such as parties, festivals and other celebrations. No complicated rhythms! Attendees may choose either drumming or dancing.
This event is part of our Friday evening series for adults and older kids. For more information please call 301-927-3013, or email info@cpae.org.

Family and friends will have a great time at this fun concert with Greenbelt’s own a capella group. The Chromatics’ original songs offer “melodic insights into modern life” with “a smattering of science” -- and they’ll also jazz up covers in their own unique way. This free concert is sure to be a hit! Come with a plan to buy some of their cds as well.

Cultural Connections is a series of lectures and performances targeted to adults (and sometimes older kids). The series brings music, dance, art, history, cultural exploration and science to the local community. Past presentations have included local history, Greek Dance, African Dance and drumming, film, a one-woman play, musical performances, poetry, and more.

If you know of a speaker or performer who would like to present a culturally enriching hour to the local community in College Park, please contact us.

University of Maryland Professor Barry Pearson has been studying African-American Music for more than 30 years, and has recently released a cd compilation, Classic African-American Ballads, with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Come learn about this mesmerizing song tradition!

Textile expert Julie Geschwind will lecture on the techniques, history, and cultural place of Malian bogolanfini (mudcloth), a traditional artform admired for its geometric patterns against an earthy backdrop. This lecture accompanies our October 13 hands-on workshop.

Maryland Poet Laureate (2001-04), Michael Collier will read and discuss the craft and life of a poet. In addition to teaching at the University of Maryland and directing the well-known Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, he is the author of The Clasp and Other Poems, The Folded Heart, and The Neighbor.