A bevy of alerts from the fine folks in Chandler crossed my virtual desk today — all noting upcoming events with a multicultural twist.
I got the feeling after reading them that you should never blink in Chandler, lest you miss something truly remarkable.
Here’s a quick review of just a few of the multicultural arts experiences you can enjoy during a single month — January 2011 — in Chandler:
First, the initial fundraiser for the Tolerance & Holocaust Museum to be built in Chandler. It features a premiere of the award-winning documentary “Rene & I” on Sat, Jan 8, at the Chandler Center for the Arts.
The film — which is being presented by the East Valley Jewish Community Center — shares the story of Rene and Irene Guttman, twins sent to Auschwitz at the age of six who survived cruel experiments by Joseph Mengele.
“Rene & I” is described as “an uplifting story about overcoming adversity against all odds” and “a tribute to tolerance, endurance of the human spirit, and the triumph of good over evil.”
Holocaust survivor Helen Handler, who was sent to Auschwitz at age 15, will speak prior to the film’s screening. Handler is the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust and has dedicated her life to “preventing hate and genocide.”
The evening will also include a “bookstore event” in the lobby and opportunities to learn more about how you can support the building of the museum or become a museum volunteer.
A second event designed to foster greater awareness and acceptance takes place just one week later — on Sat, Jan 15, in the courtyard of the downtown Chandler Public Library.
The “16th Annual Chandler Multicultural Festival” brings together “a collection of nations and cultures” for a day of dance, music, art, ethnic foods and more.
Think flamenco, Native American and step dancing. Think music from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Africa and the Dominican Republic. Think Russian/Jewish folk music and Middle Eastern music played on the Oud.
Students from the International School of Arizona are scheduled to perform songs in French, Spanish and Italian at 12:10pm on the “Unity Stage,” while students from Hope Chinese School are scheduled to perform at noon on the “Celebration Stage.”
The event also features live entertainment, diverse artisans and “an interactive area for children where they can experience a rock wall, bounce activity, coloring, and arts and crafts.”
A third event, also part of Chandler’s “2011 Celebration of Unity,” is “an inspirational multi-media jazz concert based on poetic masterwork by poet/playwright Langston Hughes.”
The concert takes place Fri, Jan 28, at Chandler Center for the Arts. “Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods of Jazz” will be performed by Dr. Ron McCurdy and his jazz quartet.
“Ask Your Mama” is a 12-part epic poem that pays “homage in verse and music to the struggle for artistic and social freedom at home and abroad beginning in the 1960s.”
Hughes scored the poem with “musical cues drawn from blues and Dixieland, gospel songs, boogie woogie, bebop and progressive jazz, Latin ‘cha cha’ and Afro-Cuban mambo music, German lieder, Jewish liturgy, West Indies calypso, and African drumming.”
The performance will be accompanied by “video images of the Harlem Renaissance by African American artists and photographers including Jacob Lawrence, Gordon Parks and Romare Bearden.”
Now, perhaps, you understand my admonition to avoid blinking in Chandler. But do feel free to clap, scat or tap your toes.
— Lynn
Note: Learn more about the “Rene & I” event at www.evjcc.org and more about the other two events at www.chandlercenter.org. Details about Chandler’s multicultural festival are available at www.chandleraz.gov/special-events or the city’s special events hotline at 480-782-2735. Click here to learn more about the Funkor Child Art Center.
Coming up: What do “Mister Rogers Neighborhood,” Vanderbilt University and The Dramatist Guild have in common?
