Community
DreamWeek Creates Dialog. Celebrates Multicultural Community
Every January, San Antonio engages in a city-wide summit promoting an exchange of ideas on universal issues facing our multicultural communities.
The mission is to advance and modernize the teachings set forth by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision, to lay the foundation of tolerance by creating dialog across cultures and communities. DreamWeek inspires and motivates participants to exchange ideas and insights on a range of subjects to advance the voices of tolerance, diversity, and equality. DreamWeek events run from Jan. 13-29.
Each of the days of DreamWeek is dedicated to one of the following themes: City, Sports, Cuisine, Health, Energy, Technology, Education, Arts, Youth, Spirit, Justice, and Business. The global exchange and celebration days will include a series of keynote speaking engagements, mixers, events, and celebrations that will foster discussions centered on universal issues.
The anchor event is the largest MLK March in the nation, in partnership with the City of San Antonio, District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, and the San Antonio Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission chaired by Dwayne Robinson.
On Monday, Jan. 16, the 36th annual march will begin at 10 a.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy, 3501 Martin Luther King Drive, and ends at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa St., followed by the park celebration at Pittman-Sullivan Park.
The park celebration will include a main stage with multicultural performances, a health and wellness area, a youth area, food and merchandise vendors, and information booths.
The keynote speaker is Cary Clack, columnist for the San Antonio Express-News. Clack’s interest in politics led him to a Scholar-Internship at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, where he wrote CNN Commentaries for Coretta Scott King.
His career has taken him to many places and introduced him to many influential people. He has worked in politics, paved the way for local Black journalistså, received numerous awards, edited the first anthology of Black Texas writers, “The Kind of Light That’s Always Shined,” and was recently named co-chair of the Coretta Scott King Scholar-Interns Alumni Association.
Here are a few other Dream Week events to attend. To see a full list, visit (DreamWeek.org).
Jan. 14 – MLK Youth Power Jam from 3 pm to 9 pm at The Espee St. Paul Square. Free concert
Jan 18 – Panel Discussion: “Not a Monolith: Intersectionality of Black Identity“ from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Brick at Blue Star. Black people in the United States are often viewed as a monolith, where the population is seen as one whole uniform body with shared experiences, views, music, culinary taste, and perspectives. Join us as we delve into a conversation on how we can tackle this monolithic perception and how the Black community can highlight their intersectional identities within their workplace and communities.
Jan. 21 – The first annual “DreamWeek Essence Gala” at the Red Berry Estate from 7 pm to 10 pm. This black-tie event aims to raise funds to support Essence Preparatory Public Schools’ scholars and programs. Learn more at (EssencePrepSA.org).
Jan. 21 – The ÒLÀJÚ African Market Festival from 5 pm to 10 pm at the Brick at Blue Star Arts Complex. Òlàjú Art Group produces the African Market Festival to showcase a wide selection of creative African talents from the continent and its Diaspora. The program features art, fashion, food, drinks, music, and shopping. Tickets are $25. For more information, visit (African-Market.OlajuArtGroup.org).
Art
Downtown SA Lights Up for the Holidays
Downtown San Antonio will sparkle this holiday season with an array of lights and holiday events.
Set against the backdrop of one of the city’s most historic and charming walkways, five blocks of Houston Street will buzz with twinkling lights, decorations, entertainers, and vendors from Nov. 24 and runs through January 2.
Additionally, on Nov. 24, kick off the holiday festivities with the Annual H-E-B Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Travis Park. Festivities begin at 4 p.m. and include live entertainment, food trucks, letters to Santa, giveaways, holiday crafts, a special visit from Santa, and a movie screening of “The Grinch.” The tree-lighting ceremony begins at 6 p.m., followed by the movie at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
Get front-row seats to the 42nd Annual Ford Holiday River Parade, which offers a spectacular one-hour parade along the San Antonio River Walk starting at 6 pm at the Tobin Center. This year’s theme, “Holiday Stories,” will kick off the San Antonio tradition. Always held the day after Thanksgiving, the parade and river lighting ceremony will feature 28 illuminated floats and over 100,000 lights (2,250 strands) illuminating the River Walk. The lights turn on from sundown to sunrise every day until the weekend following New Year’s Day. Seating ranges from $15 to $40. It is broadcast live at 7 p.m. at the Arneson River Theatre.
The Rotary Ice Rink, presented by Valero, will also return this fall at Travis Park in downtown San Antonio. Since 2019, nearly 200,000 people have enjoyed the rink and surrounding festivities. For more information, including hours of operation, pricing, and specials, visit (rotaryicerink.com).
For more events, go to (VisitSanAntonio.com).
Black Life Texas
Carver Annual Fundraiser Dec. 2
The Carver Development Board presents the Cavalcade of the Stars on Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Center.
This annual fundraiser benefits the Carver’s School for Visual & Performing Arts’ Artist Residency/Master Class Program, summer camps, Youth Matinee Series, and supports the education programs of the Carver Community Cultural Center. The title fundraiser is Valero.
The night will start with a reception and silent auction at 5:30 pm. Dinner is served at 6:30 pm, and the show begins at 8 pm featuring Kiland Kyham, also known as Mr. Houston. Kyham is a gifted and powerful author, singer, and songwriter. He has performed and produced with such music legends as Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Johnathon Butler, and Smokey Robinson. He has written over 400 song jingles and has produced numerous projects.
For over 75 years, The Carver Community Cultural Center (“The Carver”) has served as the San Antonio Eastside’s foremost gathering place of cultural exchange and performance arts. It was originally erected in 1918 as a community center for African-Americans. By the 1930s, the building was repurposed as the Colored Library and renamed the Carver Library and Auditorium in honor of Dr. George Washington Carver. From the 1940s through the Civil Rights Era, prominent African-American entertainers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong played at the Carver.
Individual tickets for the Cavalcade of the Stars are $250 or $2,500 per table. For more information, visit (TheCarver.org).
Black Life Texas
Free Native American Festival at the Briscoe
Highlighting the continued vibrancy and artistic traditions of Native American communities – and the local tribes who helped shape San Antonio – the Briscoe Western Art Museum invites everyone to enjoy its annual Yanaguana Indian Arts Festival on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 10 am to 4 pm.
The event is free and includes admission to the Briscoe, making it a perfect way to celebrate the vital role Native Americans played in shaping the West while enjoying art and artifacts that highlight Native American history.
The community festival features live performances, storytelling, artist demonstrations, pottery and carving, as well as Native American-inspired food, including REZR’vation Only, a food truck featuring Native American-inspired cuisine that is owned and operated by a registered member of the Navajo Nation. The event starts with a Native American spiritual blessing, followed by a ceremonial drum circle that invites everyone to join.
The annual event is named in honor of the Payaya people, who were indigenous to the San Antonio area. “Yanaguana” was the word they used to describe what is now known as the San Antonio River. The festival has been held annually since the museum opened, with 2020’s event taking place virtually.
To learn more, visit (BriscoeMuseum.org).
The Real History of Thanksgiving
Downtown SA Lights Up for the Holidays
Black Soldiers’ Convictions Overturned – A Century Later!
-
Black Life Texas3 weeks agoThe Untold Story of Native Americans Heritage Month
-
Entertainment4 weeks agoKirk Brings Tour to San Antonio
-
Black Life Texas4 weeks agoGet Ready for Fashionetta
-
Black Life Texas4 weeks agoBlack Veterans: Fighting Two Wars
-
Business2 weeks agoSan Antonio Airport Ranked #2 in U.S. by The Wall Street Journal
-
Black Life Texas4 weeks agoFree Native American Festival at the Briscoe
-
Black Life Texas2 weeks agoThe Historical Lack of Black Publishers
-
Black Life Texas1 week agoThe History of Soulful Thanksgiving Sides