May day - Travel Guide - Calendar

Ebony, May, 2003 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

WHAT would mom like this year for Mother's Day? Dinner? A movie or show? How about an exciting trip--your treat! When the weather turns balmy and May breezes blow, spring travelers head for home shores to honor all mothers on their day. No matter how often you might see her, take the time to make her day special. And even if mother is a loving memory, pay attention to somebody's mother this month. Check your city for special Mother's Day events in your hometown.

WHAT'S HAPPEINING WHERE

ATLANTA

* The 26th Annual Atlanta Jazz Festival is billed as the nation's largest free jazz festival. Various venues. May 1-26.

CHICAGO

* The Miracles of Mary: A Seventeenth-Century Ethiopian Manuscript. Exhibit contains over 84 paintings. The Art Institute of Chicago. Through May 18.

* When the Ancestors Call. Play. ETA Creative Arts Foundation. May 1-June 15.

* JAZZDANCE. Columbia College of Chicago. May 1-3.

* 20th Annual Chicago Blues Festival. Grant Park. May 29-June 1.

DETROIT

* Marching Toward Justice: A History of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Exhibit. The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Through May 11.

* The Black White Man. Play by the Plowshares Theatre Co. Marygrove College Theatre Center. May 8-June 1.

FORT LAUDERDALE Fla.

* 64th annual National Bowling Association convention. Wyndham Bonaventure Resort & Spa Hotel. May 22-June 1.

HOUSTON

* Houston International Festival. Downtown. April 25-May 4.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

* 15th Annual Black Rodeo. Jerry Smith Farms. May 16-17.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.

* Walt Disney World's 500-acre Animal Kingdom theme park celebrates its fifth anniversary with festivities. May-August.

LOS ANGELES

* 17th Annual UCLA Jazz & Reggae Festival. Drake Stadium. UCLA campus. May 25-26.

* Urban Aesthetics, California Artists 2003. Exhibit of the newly renovated California African American Museum, 600 State Drive in Exposition Park. Free admission, parking charge. Through Dec. 14.

MEMPHIS, Tenn.

* W.C. Handy Blues Awards and Festival. Awards at Orpheum Theatre and Festival on Beale Street. May 22-24.

MONTGOMERY, Ala.

* Jubilee City Fest. Alabama's largest music festival. Downtown Montgomery. May 23-25.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.

* Conference of Prince Hall Grand Masters & Grand Matrons. Kingston Plantation. May 5-9.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

* Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk. Play. Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall. May 13.

NEW ORLEANS

* Jefferson's America and Napoleon's France. Exhibit. New Orleans Museum of Art. May 1-Aug. 30.

NEW YORK CITY

* The Eighth Annual Essentially Ellington Festival is called the "Super Bowl" of all high school jazz band competitions. Jazz at Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall. May 18-19.

* African-American Artists, 1929-1945. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Through May 4.

* Harlem Is ... History program that celebrates 30 Harlem trailblazers, ages 50 to 100. Exhibition Hall. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Through August.

NORFOLK, Va.

* Afr'Am Fest 2003. One of the largest family-oriented cultural celebrations on the East Coast marks it 18th year. Town Point Park, May 24-26.

ST. LOUIS

* St. Louis African Arts Festival. World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. May 23-26.

SAN FRANCISCO

* Black and Blue--A Musical Revue. Play. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. May 1-June 1.

* The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Convention. Hyatt Regency-Embarcadero. May 21-26.

* Carnaval 2003. San Francisco's version of Mardi Gras. Harrison Street, between 16th and 22nd Streets. May 24-25.

SHREVEPORT, La.

* National Organization of Black County Officials 19th Annual Economic Development conference. April 30-May 4.

WASHINGTON, DC

* In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. International Gallery of the Smithsonian's S. Dillon Ripley Center. May 15-July 27.

* Urban Financial Services Coalition convention. Capital Hilton Hotel. May 26-31.

ISLAND DESTINATIONS:

BARBADOS

* Gospel Fest. Features gospel talent from the U.S., United Kingdom and Caribbean, May 22-25.

CURACAO

* 16th Annual Curacao Jazz Festival. Various venues. May 30-31.

* Caribbean Gospel Festival. World Trade Center. May 31.

ST. LUCIA

* St. Lucia Jazz Festival. Scheduled artists include Nnenna Frelon, Herbie Mann, Incognito and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others. Various venues. May 2-11.

ST. MARTIN

* Abolition of slavery day. May 27.

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

* Carnival Children's Parade. Rothschild Francis Square. May 2.

* Carnival Adults Parade. Rothschild Francis Square. May 3.

NOTE: Sponsors may change dates or locations after the magazine has been published. Travelers should verify event information with local sponsors.