With February underway, there are plenty of opportunities to celebrate Black History Month around the county. Have an event we should add to the list? Email us at editorial@moco360.media.
Feb. 4
Black History Month Celebration
The Kid Museum in Bethesda is hosting a “Black History Month Celebration” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. It will include opportunities to learn about African culture by exploring traditional regalia or dress materials from Nigeria, making necklaces or bracelets with cowry shells, and transforming fleece into textiles. Kids can also watch the performance “Black History Live with Culture Queen.”
Tickets for two-hour time periods can be purchased online for $15.
Feb. 10
Lift Every Voice: A Letter to the Editor
Through music, images and drama, this multimedia play celebrates the courage and resilience of Americans fighting injustice during the Civil Rights Movement. Recommended for ages 8 to 13, the story centers on a 12-year-old boy in the 1960s South. After he reads a negative editorial on school integration in his local newspaper, he takes matters into his own hands and speaks out for equality and inclusion. The show, which starts at 11 a.m., is part of the Saturday Morning Children’s Series at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center in Rockville.
Feb. 10
Black History Month Family Day
Families can celebrate Black History Month at this free, drop-in event at Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park. In addition to story times and hands-on activities from 1 to 3 p.m., attendees can add to the “I Have a Dream Canvas” and make a compass.
Feb. 16
History Happy Hour: Slavery in the President’s Neighborhood
The Sandy Spring Museum is hosting a happy hour event from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. led by the White House Historical Association’s Slavery in the President’s Neighborhood initiative, which “seeks to identify and share the stories of the enslaved workers who built, lived in, and worked at the White House,” according to the museum’s website. Tickets can be purchased online for $20 for museum member admission and $25 for general admission, and they include complimentary snacks and wine.
Feb. 24-25
Black History Month Family Days
From noon to 4 p.m. on both days, families can experience what life was like for kids in Dawn, the Canadian settlement that Rev. Josiah Henson created in Canada after his family escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad. The event, which is best for visitors age 4 and older, is at the Josiah Henson Museum and Park and is included in the museum admission price: $5, $4 for children and seniors.