On Saturday June 3rd at 3pm join us outdoors in Freedom Square (at 101st Street where 5th and 6th Avenues meet) for our annual Freedom Festival featuring Taina Asili y la Banda Rebelde and Katani! There’ll be free food, music, art activities and all kinds of fun!
- Sanctuary Art: Freedom Flags / Facepainting with volunteers from LUSH! / plus more
- Childrens’ Museum: With live animals
- NATURE Lab Troy Citizen Science: Perfume botany station plus styrofoam-eating mealworms
- Cornell Cooperative Extension
- Transition Troy: Bike powered smoothies and more
- North Central Little League
- Unity House: Resources showcase
- The Friends of the Library: Sign up for a library card on the spot
- Troy Zero Waste: Compost arts and eco-education activities
- League of Women Voters of Rensselaer County: register to vote
- Leaders Leading Troy: Stop the Violence presentation
- TEAM HERO / BLOCK: Stop the Violence poetry by Diamond Owens and Tai Nikki O
- Troy Bike Rescue: Bike Auction
- Capital Women: “March for Truth” sign-making table
- Troy Sanctuary movement: info table
- Compassion and Choices NY
- Barbeque by Unity House
- Collard City Growers delights integrated into delicious food from our KitchenSanctuary chefs Azure, Jonathan, Intaba, Jim and others!
- Cake from Bella Napoli and sweet deserts!
Taina Asili is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, bandleader and activist carrying on the tradition of her ancestors, fusing past and present struggles into one soulful and defiant voice. Residing in Albany, NY, she performs her social justice with her eight-piece band, Taína Asili y la Banda Rebelde. Taína Asili’s voice exudes strength of Spirit, filling listeners with the fervor for freedom and inspiring audiences dance to the rhythm of rebellion. During Taína Asili’s 20-year career of creating music for social change she has toured the country many times, toured Europe from Ireland to Germany, and has performed in Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Taína Asili has performed at many well-known festivals and venues, sharing the stage with renowned artists and activists such as Talib Kweli, Cornel West, Ursula Rucker, Sonia Sanchez, Tom Morello, Paula Cole, Jello Biafra, and The Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars.
http://tainaasili.com/
Katani is a melodic, lyrical duo of hip hop performance Raptivists committed to truth telling, self-loving and consciousness raising, based in Troy and Albany. They are devoted to unlearning the ideas that keep us all in chains and sharing our truth through the arts as a way to heal, connect, find joy, grow and make space for those often silenced. Their RebelRap Floweticism is influenced by a roster of greats such as Lady of Rage, Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé, Billie Holiday, Janet Jackson, Erykah Badu, Jamila Woods, Janelle Monáe, Frank Ocean, Motown, Kemba, Kendrick Lamar and The Internet to name a few.
http://www.misogynah.com/
WITH PRESENTATIONS BY:
BLOCK / Team Hero– Stop the Violence presentation, poem by Diamond Owens and Tai Nikki O
Leaders Leading Troy — Stop the Violence presentation.
GENERAL INFO:
Feel free to bring your own lawn chair or blanket, and anything you would like to add to our community meal.
Please let us know if you’d like to volunteer at Freedom Festival! We could always use help with our community meal (cooking, serving, clean-up), event set up and break down, activity tables, tech support and more! Contact [email protected]