BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2022 LAUNCH (2022):
The CCAWR, our partners and sponsors, kicked off Black History Month 2022 with a 3-day online celebration of Black culture. Featuring local artistes and speakers, we Celebrated, Educated and Advocated in Waterloo Region!
Throughout this launch event, we will be showcasing individuals, groups, and resources that can benefit the African, Black and Caribbean communities within Waterloo Region. Some of the topics discussed included: mental and physical health, entrepreneurship, beauty, education, political and social activism. Over the three days, there were be interviews, lectures, speeches, and performances.
*** Black History Month 2022 Launch: Programme ***
BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2021 LAUNCH (2021):
The CCAWR hosted a virtual, two day launch event for Black History Month 2021 on January 30th and January 31st, 2021. Our theme for this auspicious event was “Celebrate, Educate and Advocate.”
Through this launch event, we showcased other black community groups, and resources that can benefit the African, Black and Caribbean communities within Waterloo Region. Some of the categories of resources included: mental and physical health, financial literacy, legal support, entrepreneurship, and education. Over the two days, there were workshops, panel discussions, performances, and speeches.
Keynote speaker Dr. Laura Mae Lindo, MPP for Kitchener Centre. Other organizations and cultural associations including Bring On The Sunshine, Waterloo Region District School Board, Congress of Black Women Waterloo Region, the African Caribbean Black Network, Starlite steelband and others were also be part of the event.
Black History Month 2021 Waterloo Region Launch Schedule of Events.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2020 LAUNCH (2020):
On February 1, 2020, the Caribbean Canadian Association of Waterloo Region, The Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum and UW-BASE hosted a Black History Month 2020 launch event. The highlight was an exhibition from the Canadian Multicultural Inventors Museum, celebrating the contributions of African inventors and innovators.
A range of inventions and innovations will be featured along with educational material. The wider community will be there for outreach. Displays from various organizations and cultural associations will be present, including Bring On The Sunshine, Waterloo Region District School Board, Congress of Black Women Waterloo Region, the African Caribbean Black Network and others.
The event featured entertainment from Starlite steelband and UW-BASE. The featured speaker will be Dr. Laura Mae Lindo, MPP for Kitchener Centre.
Check out the CTV Kitchener News Story on mobile or desktop.
I NEED TO KNOW MY FATHER (???):
In this play, I Need To Know My Father the varied realities of life come up front and centre. Set in what could be ‘anywhere’ Jamaica, the story tells of a young girl who is the product of a shunned union who is determined to get answers to secrets held.
THE HISTORY OF BLACK IMMIGRATION (2016):
KARL SUBBAN (2014?):
JAMAICA FAREWELL (2012/2013):
Discover a different type of immigrant adventure in Jamaica Farewell-The Play as Debra Ehrhardthustles her way into America with a duffel bag full of cash.
THE GENERATIONS OF GOSPEL (2010):
CCAWR and Touch of Soul presented “The Generations of Gospel Music”, a concert of the testament of time. This Gospel Concert is the brainchild of Kitchener’s Rufus John, who is reaching out to young people through music, encouraging them to give back. The fifteen-member gospel choir leads the audience through “a history of black Americans, from slavery in the cotton fields, through the civil rights period and its battle against segregation to contemporary gospel melodies”.
BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR (2008):
Bubbling Brown Sugar tells the story of Harlem in the Golden Years of the 1920’s. Taking many of the great songs of the era, the writer has woven an exciting tale of a time gone by. It was the hey day of Harlem’s nightclubs, the extravagant Cotton Club, Small’s Paradise and the Savoy Ballroom. This musical started a whole wave of Broadway musicals by and about Black composers.
ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (2007):
Once On This Island is a Caribbean version of Hans Christian Anderson’s tale “The Little Mermaid”. The story takes place on a Caribbean Island divided by social prejudice. It is a colourful tale of love, loss and redemption.
LOUISE BENNETT COVERLEY (?):
Louise Bennett spoke at a side-splitting CCAWR fundraiser in Waterloo.