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Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture Newsletter
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May 2009
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In This Issue. . .
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May 16: National Arab-American Service Day & Health Fair
May 19: An Evening of Arab Music in South Philly
May 21: Arab Arts & Heritage Celebration at School District
Register for Camp!
Act NOW to Save Arts in Pennsylvania!
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Greetings!
Please come to one of the three exciting events we have planned in the coming week: the Arab-American Service Day Health Fair this Saturday; an Evening of Arab Music on Tuesday, May 19; and the Celebration of Arab Arts and Heritage at the School District of Philadelphia on Thursday, May 21. Each event promises to be different from the other. And if you still have not made summer plans or know of anyone interested in Al-Bustan Camp, registration is still open!
Also, pleas e join me in saying good-bye to Nahid Abounama-Elgadi, Al-Bustan's Drama Teacher and Program Assistant for the past two years. We are sad to see her moving to San Francisco, and send her our love and appreciation as she moves out West. We'll miss you and your infectious energy, Nahid!
Hope to see you at one of our programs soon,
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Join the School District of Philadelphia and Al-Bustan
as we celebrate Arab Arts and Heritage and
recognize the poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye.
Thursday May 21, in the atrium at the School District of Philadelphia's headquarters
440 N. Broad Street (at Spring Garden)
Performances 11:15 am - 12:30 pm
Activities/Demonstrations 12:30-1:30 pm
Please join us in celebrating the hard work, creativity and enthusiasm of students enrolled in Arabic language, arts, and culture classes in seven Philadelphia public schools.
This event is not to be missed! Over 200 students and teachers will be there. We hope that you will attend and show your support for Al-Bustan's partnership with the School District to bring quality Arab arts education to Philadelphia students.
The poetry of Arab-American author Naomi Shihab Nye was our theme this year and served as a framework for students to explore their lives and heritage and express themselves through the arts.
Students from these schools will present a performance of music, dance, art, and poetry: John Moffet Elementary School, Feltonville School of Arts & Sciences, Penn Alexander School, Motivation High School, Philadelphia Military Academy at Leeds, Philadelphia Military Academy at Elverson, and Benjamin Franklin High School.
Please consider taking an hour out of your workday to see and support these wonderful children!
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An Evening of Arab Music
Tuesday, May 19, 7:30-8:30 pm
GAMP School Auditorium
22nd & Ritner St (south of Passyunk St)
Free and open to the public
Parking available, enter at 22nd St between Ritner & Porter
Refreshments following concert
This evening features several youth ensembles performing classical Arab music and Arab/Jazz
fusion compositions by internationally acclaimed Palestinian-American
composer Simon Shaheen.
The concert is the culminating event of Al-Bustan's program, funded largely
through the National Endowment for the Arts, where Mr. Shaheen was
invited last November to conduct a workshop at the
Kimmel Center for 100 Philadelphia public school teachers and local
musicians. In January Mr. Shaheen returned to conduct a series of
lively master workshops with six youth ensembles, teaching each group a
repertoire of traditional Arab music and his compositions of Arab/Jazz
fusion.
The
concert will feature the following groups presenting an enchanting
evening of Arab melodies, rhythms and songs: - Pennsylvania Girlchoir
- William Penn Charter Jazz Band
- Kimmel Center Youth Jazz
Ensemble
- GAMP High School Jazz Band
- Al-Bustan Percussion
Ensemble
- and the premiere of Al-Bustan Music Ensemble under the direction of Hanna Khoury
Girard Academic Music Program (GAMP) School is graciously hosting this event in their FABULOUS and AMAZING new auditorium. If you haven't been in this space yet, be sure you come on the 19th!
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Arab-American Service Day
This Saturday, May 16, 11am-3pm
Towey Playground, 1128 N. Howard St.
Free Street Parking
In partnership with the Arab-American CDC and the Nationalities Service Center, Al-Bustan will co-present a Health Fair in Kensington to mark the fifth annual National Arab-American Service Day. The Health Fair will provide diabetes screenings, blood pressure tests, children's activities, a raffle, and more! For more information, or to volunteer, please e-mail arabserviceday@gmail.com |
Register for Camp!
July 6 - 24, 2009
Summer is just around t he corner, and that means it's time to register your 6-17 year-old for Al-Bustan Camp!For more info, scholarships, & registration forms, e-mail ctucker@albustanseeds.org or call 267.809.3668
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Act Today to Save the Arts
Arts and Culture Funding in Pennsylvania is in Grave Danger!
 The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, which has worked for over twenty years to preserve, create, and maintain arts and heritage programs across Pennsylvania, is in danger of losing all its funding. This organization, which distributes $14 million in seed money and support to arts and culture organizations across the state, embodies the Commonwealth's recognition that arts and cultural programming create and maintain strong communities. Al-Bustan has been the recipient of PCA funding annually since 2004. We would not have been able to develop our programming and organization without the critical funding we have benefited from and hope to continue to rely on in the coming years. Please ACT NOW by following this link to send a message to your representative! |
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Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture is dedicated to educating youth about the Arabic language, arts, and culture.
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