Buzz
Celebrate the best of Harlem virtually
during Harlem Week 2020 in August
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A week-long celebration of all things
Harlem is going digittal later this
month.
The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce
announced that Harlem Week 2020
will be held virtually, streaming online
from Aug. 16-23. The week will not only
celebrate art, culture, sports history and
entertainment that is native to Harlem, but
also include community building initiatives
around education, technology, economic
empowerment, systematic racism, and the
disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on
communities of color.
“We recognize that 2020 is a year unlike
anything we have ever seen. From
COVID-19 ravaging our most vulnerable
communities to the racial reckoning in
America, it is important that we share
the culture, history, resilience and
strength of Harlem to the world,” said
Lloyd Williams, President of The Greater
Harlem Chamber of Commerce. “This
year also marks the centennial celebrations
of the Harlem Renaissance, the
Negro Baseball League and the Women’s
New Yorkers came out in droves to kick off Harlem Week at the “A Great Day in
Harlem” festival at the General Grant Memorial on Riverside Drive.
Suffrage Movement. We are proud to
lead the way in the resurgence of sports,
art, entertainment and activism as New
York City recovers from the multiple
pandemics.”
For 46 years, Harlem Week has showcased
the best of Harlem. The week’s
lineup of events includes:
Harlem 5K Virtual Run and Health
Walk (Aug. 16 through Aug. 23)
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
The Harlem Music Festival (Aug. 16
through Aug. 23)
A Great Day in Harlem (Aug. 16)
Youth Education and Career Conference
& Hack-A-Thon (Aug. 16)
Hon. Percy E. Sutton Business Conference
(Aug. 19)
Jobs and Career Fair featuring a discussion
on Jobs Behind The Scenes on Broadway
(Aug. 19)
Senior Citizens Day (Aug. 21)
HARLEM DAY (Aug. 23)
Harlem Week will also include a COVID
19 Regional Summit (Aug. 18), the
fi rst-ever Hon. Charles B. Rangel Systemic
Racism & Economic Justice Summit (Aug.
20); along with panel discussions led by
the Schomburg Center for Research in
Black Culture.
A number of special guests will make
an appearance at Harlem Week, including
performances and appearances by music
greats Dionne Warwick, John Legend,
Nona Hendryx, Monty Alexander, Hezekiah
Walker and Melba Moore; hip-hop
icon Doug E. Fresh; Grammy award
winning singer, Stephanie Mills; Dancing
with the Stars musical director Ray
Chew; legendary actors Phylicia Rashad
and Danny Glover; master arranger, Jazz
composer, producer Nat Adderly Jr.; Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance
Theatre of Harlem, Oyu Oro Afro Cuban
Dance Ensemble; music by Bob Dylan in
an exclusive performance of The Girl
From The North Country; an exclusive
premiere of Langston Hughes’ The Black
Clown courtesy of Lincoln Center; a celebration
of the 56th anniversary of Jazzmobile’s
Summerfest; as well as a performance
from legendary Wynton Marsalis.
For a complete list of events, visit www.
harlemweek.com.
Annual Washington Square
Park Folk Festival goes
online and is free to the
public this summer
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A free online folk festival is
coming to the Village at
the end of August.
The Digital Washington Square
Park Folk Festival, normally an inperson
event, will stream online
due to the pandemic. Hosted by
Jalopy Theatre, the tenth annual
festival will stream on Aug. 30
from 2 to 5 p.m. on the theatre’s
Facebook page at www.facebook.
com/jalopytheatre.
The Washington Square Park
Folk Festival celebrates and continues
the long tradition of folk
music performance in Washington
Square Park, dating back to the
1940s when Woody Guthrie and
Pete Seeger would play together in
the park. The tradition continued
in the 1960s with Bob Dylan up
until today.
The festival will be recorded
live at the Jalopy Theatre with no
live audience and a small crew,
wearing masks and practicing social
distancing. This year’s festival
will feature blues, folk and jazz
singer and multi-instrumentalist
Jerron ‘Blindboy’ Paxton, as well
as acclaimed performers such
as songwriter Feral Foster,
Flamenco singer Julia Patinella
and La Cumbiamba NY, playing
traditional Cumbia music from
Colombia.
The schedule of the festival
will be as follows:
Julia Patinella – 2 p.m.
Feral Foster – 2:45 p.m.
La Cumbiamba NY – 3:30
p.m.
Jerron ‘Blindboy’ Paxton – 4:15
p.m.
The festival is free to the public
and supported by the NYU Offi ce
of Community Affairs, the Washington
Square Hotel, the Music
Inn, the Washington Square
Park Conservancy and the New
York City Department of Parks
& Recreation.
For more information, visit
www.WSPFolkFest.com.
18 August 6, 2020 Schneps Media
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