Let It Shine Weekend

Past Special Guests & Black-Owned Businesses

• AfroThreads

  Stop by a table featuring special guests from AFROTHREADS®, an African Textile Design Studio with operations in Accra, Ghana and Baltimore, Maryland. Get a feel for wax printed and woven African fabrics. Learn history, the traditional practices used to create these cultural heirlooms, and about Adinkra symbols.

• B-360

  Meet special guests from B-360 as their team members provide a variety of interactive experiences about dirt bike culture. With their electric dirt bike demos and STEM table activities, guests of all ages will witness B-360’s mission of STEM education, entrepreneurship, and mentorship.

• Black Girls Dive

  Experience virtual scuba diving led by the scholars and instructors from the non-profit organization, Black Girls Dive Foundation, Inc. They will run a few 20-minute sessions at a time where participants can explore STEM concepts and learn more about marine-science based careers.

• Coffin & OhYesYo: Yo-Yo Skills (Ticketed Event)

  Explore play and creativity through yo-yo tricks with special guest yo-yo thrower Coffin Nachtmahr of the 2016 documentary Throw. Learn the history and various types of yoyoing, watch a live demonstration, and then practice the basics of modern yo-yo techniques. This workshop will be limited to 20 participants for ages 5 and up.

• Drama MaMa Bookshop

  Stop by a table featuring special guests from Drama MaMa Bookshop, a stationary manufacturing company offering a wide variety of notebooks and journals available for purchasing.

• GIRL IN SPACE CLUB: STEMulating Art® (Ticketed Event)

  Our special guest Sabrina Thompson, founder of GIRL IN SPACE CLUB and NASA rocket scientist, will lead a workshop into the intersection of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM). In this immersive experience, participants will design their own stylish astronaut kicks, blending the worlds of fashion and space exploration. This workshop will be limited to 15 participants. Recommended ages: 7 and up.

• Moving History

  An interactive dance program hosted by special guest teaching artists from Moving History. They will lead audience members through Baltimore’s neighborhoods, telling the story of African Diasporan history and culture along the way. From Lindy Hop and Jazz on Pennsylvania Avenue and African Drumming in Druid Hill Park, to Baltimore Club in Graffiti Alley, and Marching Band Drum and Dance in every rec center parking lot.

• No Boundaries Coalition

  Stop by an informational table featuring special guests from No Boundaries Coalition, a non profit organization dedicated to deconstructing boundaries and reconstructing communities in central West Baltimore.

• Regal Clothes

  Stop by a table featuring special guests from Regal Clothes, a Baltimore based fashion brand that uses vibrant Ankara tribal fabrics of West Africa. Regal Clothes will conduct a head-wrap workshop, along with Ankara tribal print clothes, accessories, and waist beads for purchase.

• Visiting Storyteller-Ada Ari

  Have you ever wondered why spiders have such thin legs? Join us for an interactive story time with author Ada Ari, author of The Spider’s Thin Legs. Hear a time-honored folktale from Ghana.  Participants will also learn a famous Ghanaian dance move, learn fun cultural facts about the Ashanti kingdom of Ghana (birthplace of this story), and engage in coloring and trace-by-number activities.

• When Children Write

  Stop by an information table featuring a special guest from When Children Write, a publishing company that provides after-school programming. Learn about the organization and see examples of the published books kids have created.