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Funded in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation, and the Boeing Company Charitable Trust
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Leave Your Post-Festival Reflection Here
We want to hear from you, the folks who participated in ROOTS Fest. Please leave your stories, quotes, anecdotes and reflections in the comment section under this post.
Thanks for the support!
The ROOTS Fest Team
ROOTS Fest is here!
ROOTS Fest, Many Communities, One Voice is in Baltimore! ROOTS Fest is a celebration of community, creativity, culture and connection. Come and be a part of history in the making on June 22 – June 26. Need directions? Click here. Need the schedule? Click here. Need information about free shuttles between lodging and event locations? Click here.
ROOTS Fest offers five days of arts events, with prices ranging from FREE to $20.
Tonight! Tickets are still available!
Thursday, June 23, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., see No Less Black by Gesel Mason Performance Projects, Daughters of the Cane by Millicent Johnnie, Brotherly Love by Olive Dance Theater and I’ll Remember For You by Jump-Start Performance Co. This is world class theater with a message. The Wednesday and Thursday performances will be at Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy, 2000 Edgewood St., Baltimore, MD 21216. Tickets are $20 each night and available here.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 23, 24, and 25, join us late nights for the Raucous Caucus. You’ll see dance, drag shows, fire spinning and more. Every night has a different group of performances. Tickets are $15 at the door at the LOF/t, 120 W North Ave, Baltimore (cash only).
On Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June 26, join us for an amazing FREE outdoor festival to celebrate the people of Baltimore as they creatively reinvent their community by holding a party on the very site that has divided us in the past: “The Highway to Nowhere” at Franklin and N. Gilmor. The outdoor festival–with three stages for performances, a healthy living pavilion, EcoFest, an artists market, food and drink–will be staged along the highway, bringing life to a now desolate area. There will be main acts, such as Talib Kweli, Chuck Brown, Anthony David, Sunni Patterson and much more. This event is fun for the whole family.
And, for those community members who want to be further engaged, Alternate ROOTS, CultureWorks and allies are hosting Art, Culture & Creativity: A National Learning Exchange, Transforming everyday lives of everyday people, from June 22 – 24. Join Alternate ROOTS on the occasion of its 35th birthday for a three-day galvanizing event that will elevate the national conversation about the power of art, culture, and creativity in building and maintaining resilient communities.
We love seeing you in Baltimore June 22 – June 26!
Photos from ROOTS Fest 2011
Photos from ROOTS Fest 2011, Saturday, June 25
Talib Kweli takes main stage
WATCH VIDEO: Talib Kweli takes main stage!
Talib Kweli in a performance that got the ROOTS Fest 2011 community moving!
A community celebrates at ROOTS Fest 2011
A community affair: ROOTS Fest 2011
Baltimore, MD – Members of the West Baltimore community are coming together over Route 40, the Highway to Nowhere, in a celebration that includes good music, good food, and a community coming together. Anthony David, Grammy-nominated R&B artist, poured on the charm from the main stage. He followed Chuck Brown, known as the “Godfather of Go-Go,” who got the crowd wound up on Saturday afternoon. Sunni Patterson spit some truth and poetry as the sun got lower in the sky, and the crowd prepared for Talib Kweli’s performance in the later part of the night.
“I love it, I’ve learned a lot, and seen a lot of different things,” said Lee Stephens, 40, a vendor at ROOTS Fest 2011 who was offering photos in front of colorful graffiti art backdrops. Stephens, who lives in central West Baltimore just a short walk from the site of the festival, runs a photography business focusing on event photography and portraits.
Vendors selling handmade art, photography, clothing, crafts and more brought their wares. Everything from balloon animals to animal-print handbags, from hammocks to handmade jewelry, from hand-blown glass to ceramics. At the Art of Healthy Living stage, people learned about healthfulness. The West Baltimore community was lifted up in the Funkville area of the festival. Kids played and laughed, neighbors shook hands, and people celebrated, from West Baltimore, the surrounding neighborhoods, and from all over the world. Continue reading →