A new yule - Travel Guide - Brief Article

Ebony, Dec, 2001 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

Habari gani? The news this Christmas and Kwanzaa is reflection, renewal and quality time with loved ones at home. Especially in this time of crisis and challenge, home is a haven from outside woes. It's time to take comfort in simple things, like homemade Christmas tree decorations, like Kwanzaa's gifts of the spirit. Here are some holiday activities and events to celebrate with family. Cheek hotels, convention centers and organizations for changes in the time and tone of events that were scheduled weeks ago. Some parades and festivals may be postponed.

WHAT'S HAPPENING WHERE

ATLANTA

* National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials Convention. Georgia World Congress Center. Dec. 4-8.

* Christmas with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Features the Morehouse College Glee Club and ASO Chorus. Atlanta Symphony Hall. Dec. 6-9.

* 11th Annual Candlelight Tours of Dr. King's birth home. Decorated for Christmas during the 1930s. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. Dec. 1, 8 and 15.

CHICAGO

* Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration. Celebrate Kwanzaa and enjoy cultural performances, educational workshops and discussion groups. South Shore Cultural Center. Dec. 15-16.

* What Shall I Tell My Children: The Dr. Margaret Goss Burroughs Story. ETA Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago. Dec. 26-28 and Saturdays through Jan. 5.

CLEVELAND

* Annual Kwanzaa Celebration. Tri-C. Dec. 26.

COLUMBUS, Ohio

* Firehouse Jazz Society: "Back to Birdland." Tribute to Charlie (Bird) Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Columbus Music Hall. Dec. 8-9.

* Kwanzaa Tribute. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Dec. 14.

* 1st Annual Gospel Extravaganza. King Arts Complex. Dec. 16.

CRYSTAL CITY, Va.

* National Council of Negro Women Convention. Hyatt-Regency Hotel. Dec. 4-10.

DETROIT

* Kwanzaa Celebration. Promotes and celebrates the seven principles of Kwanzaa through rituals and activities that strengthen family and community life. Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Dec. 26-Jan. 1, 2002.

* 26th Annual Noel Night. Evening of caroling and celebration throughout the University Cultural Center. Dec. 1.

HAMPTON, Va.

* Kwanzaa Celebration. Northampton Community Center. Dec. 27.

JACKSON, Miss.

* Community Kwanzaa Celebration 2001. Medgar Evers Community Center. Dec. 26-Jan. 1, 2002.

LOS ANGELES

* Annual Black Doll Exhibit. Exhibition of antique dolls from private and public collections as well as contemporary dolls. Dec. 9-Feb. 28, 2002.

MEMPHIS, Tenn.

* Kwanzaa Celebration. National Civil Rights Museum. Dec. 30.

MIAMI

* International Kwanzaa Celebration. Celebrating Miami's African heritage. Various sites. Dec. 4-18.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va.

* Waters of Despair, Waters of Hope: African-Americans and the Chesapeake Bay. This exhibit explores the African-American impact on the maritime/naval economy of the bay from 1750 to the present. Through mid-December.

NEW YORK CITY

* Christmas Concert. Featuring the Caribbean sounds of the Invaders Steel Orchestra. The Town Hall. Dec. 6.

* Gospel Christmas Concert. Featuring the Marble Collegiate Church Choir. The Town Hall. Dec. 14-15.

* KwanzaaFest 2001. Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Dec. 15-18.

* Live From Lincoln Center: New York Philharmonic & Jazz at Lincoln Center--"Nutcracker Swing." Featuring the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and The New York Philharmonic. Music by Tchaikovsky, Ellington, Strayhorn and Marsalis. Avery Fisher Hall. Dec. 19.

PHILADELPHIA

* Kwanzaa Festival. African American Museum. Dec. 29.

ST. LOUIS

* Kwanzaa Ritual of Regeneration & Nation Building Dance Concert. St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park. Dec. 22.

* Kwanzaa Festival. Missouri Botanical Garden. Dec. 29.

SAN FRANCISCO

* Kwanzaa Festival. Bay Area Discovery Museum. Free cultural day of Kwanzaa activities for children and families. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 26.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

* African Wall Panels. Exhibit of the brightly colored wall panels and sculpture from the Nkanu people of the Western Congo. National Museum of African Art. Dec. 16-Feb. 3, 2002.

ISLAND DESTINATIONS

THROUGHOUT THE CARIBBEAN Christmas Day. Dec. 25.

ARUBA

* Saint Nicholas Day. Dec. 5.

THE BAHAMAS

* Boxing Day. Dec. 26.

CURACAO

* St. Nicholas Day. Dec. 5.

* New Year's Eve. Official holiday (half-day). Plaza Brion. Dec. 31.