African American Heritage Festival

The theme for this year's Heritage Festival is Uzuri or Beauty. The is an annual event that promises to be a great experience for all, especially for the campus African American community. Posted below is a schedule of events. Find at least one you are intereseted in.

Saturday, April 25 ~ Community Service
Various locations: YWCA Family Center, God’s Grace Church, Columbus Parks and Recreation, Ronald McDonald House; 9am- 1pm
Volunteers should arrive at the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center at 9am for registration.

Contact: Brittney Tubbs (tubbs.20@osu.edu)



Saturday, April 25 ~ Kickoff Celebration
South Oval/Browning Amphitheater, 2-6pm (Rain Site: RPAC, Tom Davis Gym)
Kick-Off Celebration marks the beginning of the Heritage Festival with events such as the Carnival, Health Fair and other various performances. The carnival will be a fun filled community event with food, inflatables, raffles, arts and crafts, face painting, and booths for makeovers to highlight our theme of Beauty. The Health Fair will help one to understand their health status financially, personally and emotionally. There will also be performances from all genres that will provide entertainment for all audiences.

Contacts: Devin Walker (walker.856@osu.edu) and Miaisha Nunnally (nunnally.2@osu.edu)



Sunday, April 26 ~ Gospel Fest
RPAC, Richard C. Larkins Plaza (Rain site: Hitchcock Hall, 131), 5-8pm
Gospel Fest invites you to experience the BEAUTY of praise and worship in a diverse setting of students, faculty, staff and the open Columbus Community. Local and nationally recorded artists alike will minister in various forms of praise dance, miming, step and song!

Contact: Ebony Deas (ebony_deas@yahoo.com)



Monday, April 27 ~ Town Hall Forum
Haggerty Hall, Rm. 180, 5:30-8pm
This forum will afford students the opportunity to engage in an open dialogue, discussing current issues within the African American community with peers as well as members of the Greater Columbus community. This year's town hall forum discussion will center around the topic of Skin Complexion in the African American Community and the stereotypes associated with it.

Contact: Ryan Kemp (ryanckemp@gmail.com)



Monday, April 27 ~ Scholarship Giveaway
The African American Heritage Festival will be presenting its 2nd Annual Scholarship Awards at Town Hall Forum. This award will be given to talented and deserving African American high school seniors in Franklin County.

Contact: Yetunde Emanuel (emanuel.21@osu.edu)



Monday, April 27 ~ Community Service
Salvation Army
The African American Heritage Festival Community Service Committee will be accepting clothing donations to give to the Salvation Army. Donations will be accepted during the Town Hall Forum Event. We thank you in advance for your gift.

Contact: Brittney Tubbs (tubbs.20@osu.edu)



Tuesday, April 28 ~ OSU/Columbus Reads
East Linden Elementary School, 1pm-2pm
Volunteers should arrive at the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center at 12:15pm.

Contacts: Auborey Upshaw (upshaw.15@osu.edu) and Roddeya Robinson (robinson.974@osu.edu)



Tuesday, April 28 ~ Poetry Slam
Browning Amphitheater, 7-9pm (Rain Site: Campbell Hall, 200)
Reflections of a Beautiful Mind. The Poetry Slam is an expression of the creative minds of today’s generation, through spoken word. This event promotes the positive expression of students of the Ohio State campus and surrounding colleges. Our goal is to challenge the minds of the poets into producing thought provoking words, and to question the norms and main ideas of beauty. The Poetry Slam is here to inspire and uplift the African American students. This event brings an intimate feeling and setting to the African American Heritage Festival.

Contact: Anna-Stacia Allen (allen.1033@osu.edu)



Tuesday, April 28 ~ Community Service
The Beauty of Words
The Community Service Committee will be accepting children's books to donate to a local Columbus elementary school. The books will be collected during the Poetry Slam event, and will be donated to the elementary school on the last day of the Columbus Reads program. We thank you in advance for your donations.

Contact: Brittney Tubbs (tubbs.20@osu.edu)


Wednesday, April 29 ~ Soul Time
Newport Music Hall, doors open at 6pm; show starts at 7pm
OSU’s original student talent showcase, Soul Time, has been a fixture in the Heritage Festival for years. This year we want to embody the creativity and talents of not only the OSU community but the general Columbus population as well. Tickets will be distributed at the Multicultural Center and the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center.

Contact: Erika Fields (fields.233@osu.edu)



Wednesday, April 29 ~ Community Service
Mid-Ohio Food Bank
During the Heritage Festival Soul Time Event, canned food items will be collected and donated to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. The Community Service Committee would like to thank in advance all those that support this program.

Contact: Brittney Tubbs (tubbs.20@osu.edu)



Thursday, April 30 ~ OSU/Columbus Reads
Hubbard Elementary School, 9:45am-10:45am
Volunteers should arrive at the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center at 9am

Contacts: Auborey Upshaw (upshaw.15@osu.edu) and Roddeya Robinson (robinson.974@osu.edu)



Thursday, April 30 ~ Thursday Themed Event
RPAC, Richard C. Larkins Plaza, 7pm (Rain Site: Campbell Hall, 200)
Thursday's Event, Beauty By Design, highlights local designers as they present to you the best couture, urban and heritage-themed clothing on the market. Witness up and coming designers from Columbus cut, stitch, and sew their way to the top with clothes being modeled by your friends and classmates and hosted by The Fabulous Toccara!!!

Contact: Joseph Gould (gould.92@osu.edu)



Friday, May 1 ~ OSU/Columbus Reads
MLK Lounge, Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center, 10am-1:30pm
Volunteers should arrive at 8:30am.
Indianola and 5th Ave. 1st graders will come to campus for a fun-filled day that will consist of reading, playing games, arts & crafts, and exciting entertainment.

Contacts: Auborey Upshaw (upshaw.15@osu.edu) and Roddeya Robinson (robinson.974@osu.edu)



Friday, May 1 ~ Mahogany Moments
The Event Place, 7pm-11pm, doors open at 6:30pm
Reflections on Beauty. Mahogany Moments is a semi-formal dinner and dance in which attendants will have a formal dining experience along with a presentation on diverse perceptions of beauty. The cost is $10 for a single and $15 for a couple in advance, $15 at the door. Tickets will be available at the Frank W. Hale, Jr. Black Cultural Center and Multicultural Center.

Contacts: Kayla Jackmon (jackmon.1@osu.edu) and Akua Sarpong (sarpong.4@osu.edu)

Saturday, May 2 ~ 22nd Annual National Pan-Hellenic Council Step Show
Mershon Auditorium, doors open at 5pm; show begins at 6pm
The National Pan-Hellenic Council Step Show is an annual event showcasing the extraordinary talents of NPHC chapters from Ohio State and the surrounding area. Prizes will be awarded to the top teams, and ticket proceeds will benefit the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation. Tickets cost $15, and will be available for purchase online through Ticketmaster.com or at the Wexner Center for the Arts.

Contact: Ashley Rutledge (arutledge@studentlife.osu.edu)

Come out and support your friends and peers. And don't forget to bring a friend!