Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1017425
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM AUGUST 22-28, 2018 UCW 13 DR. SHANESSA FENNER, Principal, WT Brown Elementary School. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. According to Wikipedia, "umjoa" is the Swahili word for "unity." Locally, Umoja Group, Inc. is an educational, cultural, charitable, and service or- ganization that initiates and supports activities that promote the positive history, arts and culture of Africans, African-Americans and Caribbeans. e group then shares this rich heri- tage with others to enhance respect, cooperation and unity. e Umoja Group, Inc. presents the 26th annual Umoja Festival this Saturday, Aug. 25, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at Seabrook Park. "e purpose of the event is to have a cultural festival to honor our own in our community, and it is for us and by us," said Cassandra Stan- difer, board of directors of the Umoja Festival. "We keep it in our neighbor- hood so that walkers can have a loca- tion that is easily accessible to them because a lot of people don't get the opportunity to branch out." e event features a health fair, Total Collaboration Band, drummers, Tokay Rockers, a rock-climbing wall and bouncy house, food, arts and craft vendors, Chrome Knights Motorcycle Club and Antique Cars, E. E. Smith High School marching band, storytell- ers and the movie "Black Panther." "Our health fair is one of the larg- est ones in the state of North Caro- lina, and Darvin Jones is the overseer of the health fair," Standifer said. "He gets the different organizations that participate with that. We offer free immunizations for school-aged children and free school physicals for children – we have that readily avail- able for parents to take advantage of." ere are also services for adults. "We offer EKGs, blood sugar testing, blood pressure screening, hand CPR, grip strength tests and booths that offer information about nutrition, diet and breast cancer," said Standi- fer. "e year before last, we had a woman who had her blood pressure checked, and it was so high they had to take her to the hospital. "It was good she came in to have it checked because it could have been a totally different outcome than it was that day." Standifer added that a lot of people are under stress these days and they are having headaches and other kinds of symptoms that they brush off. e health fair gives people an opportunity to get an idea of how they are actually doing. e festival features an arts com- ponent designed especially for the children. "My daughter just gradu- ated from Winston-Salem State Uni- versity, and she will be selling some of her art pieces," said Standifer. "She will do art projects with the chil- dren on the inside. We are trying to branch out and make it a little more fun for everybody." "I would like for everyone that has been to one of our festivals and enjoyed it to come on out and join us again," said Standifer. "We welcome the whole community to come and take advantage of this educational experience." e health fair ends at 2 p.m., but the other Umoja Festival activities con- tinue at Seabrook Park until 7 p.m. e event is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome. For more information, call 910-485-8035 or email umojagroupfay@gmail.com. Umoja Festival celebrates community by DR. SHANESSA FENNER ere are reasons people love Fri- days. It's the end of the workweek for most of us and a chance to kick back and relax with friends and family. And there is no shortage of things to do on a Friday evening in Fayetteville. Once a month, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County and the Cool Spring Downtown District team up with multiple venues down- town for a celebration. It's known as 4th Friday. is month, Aug. 24, from 6-9 p.m. there will be new art exhibits, shopping, entertainment and more. e Arts Council's newest exhibi- tion opens during 4th Friday fes- tivities. It's called "Contemporary Art Forms By America's First People." e show celebrates the works of contem- porary American Indian artists. Works include paintings, drawings, pottery, textiles and baskets. e exhibition runs through Oct. 20. "is is the second time that the Arts Council will present an exhibi- tion that features the contemporary works of America's first people," said Deborah Martin Mintz, executive director. "e first one – in 2016 – was so well-received, we decided to bring it back. Some of the same artists are included in the upcoming exhibition, as well as new artists." e Cool Spring Downtown District makes 4th Fridays an interactive ad- venture, showcasing downtown with themes and activities. is month, the theme is "Back to Cool." Accord- ing to Sam DuBose, CSDD general manager, "e contest this month will be a hybrid 'orientation' and will include various sites in down- town. e sites are broken into departments. For example, the Arts Council is the 'Art Depart- ment' and so on. People will take selfies and use our designated hashtag and upload their pictures to social media. And there will be a random drawing for a winner – a gift basket will be the prize." ere will be copies of the "orientation" guide/"yearbook" available at various downtown businesses or on the 4th Friday Facebook page for download. It will include instructions about how to upload selfies as well as the social media hashtag. Have you ever wanted to get a bird's eye view of downtown? e Market House is open to the pub- lic from 6-10 p.m. during 4th Fri- day. Venture upstairs and see the permanent exhibit "A View from the Square: A History of Down- town Fayetteville" and check out the August exhibit "Market House History." What really went on under the rafters of Fayetteville's only National Historic Landmark? Say goodbye to summer with fun and happy songs at Headquarters Li- brary. Rhonda and Meliheh will sing and play lighthearted sounds on their ukuleles. ere will be light refresh- ments. It's free to attend. Call 910-482- 7727 ext. 1344 to learn more. Fascinate-U Children's Museum invites children to make a pencil top- per craft on 4th Friday. e museum is open for free play from 7-9 p.m. With so much going on, Janet Gib- son, Arts Council director of market- ing and communications, summed up the fun saying, "e joy. It can be seen – and felt – all around downtown during the 4th Friday celebrations. My heart always melts when I watch kids discover art, perhaps for the very first time, in the Arts Center at 301 Hay St. I love to watch families and friends come together to explore all the down- town galleries, restaurants, shops and other cool businesses. ere truly is something for everyone." Visit www.visitdowntownfayette- ville.com or www.theartscouncil.com for more information. Get 'Back to Cool' at 4th Friday by STEPHANIE CRIDER EVENTS e Umoja Festival features a health fair, bands, dancers, a rock-climbing wall and bouncy house, food, arts and craft vendors, antique cars, storytellers and the movie "Black Panther." STEPHANIE CRIDER, Asso- ciate Publisher. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-484-6200. is oil painting, titled "James Locklear, Lumbee," depicts the great-grandfather of artist Jessica Clark. Oil on canvas, 36" x 24", 2018.