Art, food, and music of Latin Christmas at Cheekwood's Festival of the Holidays Sunday December 10

From Cheekwood:

FESTIVAL OF THE HOLIDAYS CELEBRATES FOUR MULTI-CULTURAL HOLIDAY TRADITIONS AT CHEEKWOOD DECEMBER 10

From the Akiva School Choral Ensemble to Vanderbilt’s Victory A Capella Choir, Sunday, December 10 will be a day of sharing the unique traditions of four year-end holidays as Cheekwood hosts Festival of the Holidays with interactive multi-cultural activities on Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Navidad.

“This is a special part of our Season of Celebration events,” Jack Becker, Ph.D., president of Cheekwood “It is a wonderful time for families to learn about the year-end holiday traditions of others and do so with a grand variety of fun family activities, all in one afternoon.”

Activities, from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm, include everything from hands-on art projects to sampling foods and music associated with each tradition. All activities will be held in Cheekwood’s Botanic Hall. Cheekwood thanks CLARCOR, Inc. for their support of this event as the Patron of the Day.
Following are performance times:

1:15 pm – HANUKKAH Sababa
Akiva School Choral Ensemble

2:15 pm – NAVIDAD Aurelio Martinez & Jose Alegria
La Posada

3:15 pm – KWANZAA A Surprise Kwanzaa Performance

4:15 pm – CHRISTMAS The Victory A Capella Choir
Vanderbilt University

Interactive activities associated with each of the traditions include:

Kwanzaa: participants learn how to make Kwanzaa candles; sample foods such as Janita bread, sweet potatoes, and turnip greens, all associated with Kwanzaa. Sponsored by Pam Thompson & Friends and The Jack and Jill Club of Williamson county.

Hanukkah: participants learn how to make paper dreidels; and enjoy a treat of Sufganiyot and Chanukah gelt. Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee

Navidad: participants sample Atole (hot chocolate), Buñuelos (Traditional Colombian Christmas food); Tamales; and learn how to make Paper Nativities. Sponsored by Woodbine Community Group & Catholic Charities – Latino Services.

Christmas: activities include making Clothespin Reindeer; and participants will be able to sample Christmas cookies and holiday punch.

Cheekwood’s Season of Celebration 2006 runs through December 31 and is a children’s wonderland of decorations, storytelling, cookie decorating, and musical performances as Cheekwood celebrates Christmas around the world.

Cheekwood inspires and educates by making art, horticulture and nature accessible to a diverse community. Cheekwood is located at 1200 Forrest Park Drive in Nashville, 8 miles southwest of downtown Nashville. Open Tuesday – Saturday 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For further information call 615-356-8000 or visit www.cheekwood.org.