Kwanzaa will be celebrated in style on Wednesday!

The Pittsfield-based Women of Color Giving Circle, Berkshire Branch of the NAACP, and the Rites of Passage and Empowerment Program (R.O.P.E.) will be holding its annual community Kwanzaa Celebration virtually at 6 pm on Wednesday, Dec. 29th. 

According to a media release, Kwanzaa is described as a non-religious celebration held from December 26th through January 1st. The holiday celebrates African and African-American culture, with an emphasis on seven principles geared towards uplift and empowerment. 

According to NewsObserver.com those seven principles: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith), are represented by the seven candles of the kinara.

WUPE logo
Get our free mobile app

This theme of this year's local event is, “Young, Gifted, and Black: Where Do We Go from Here?” 

The keynote speaker at the virtual event will be Mayor Kamal Johnson of Hudson, N.Y.

The event lineup will also include youth speaker, Sierra Boyd, and include performances by Wanda Houston and Samirah Evans.  

The ceremony can be viewed via one of the following options:

·         Access Pittsfield (cable channel 1301)

·         PCTV Select, available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and PittsfieldTV.org

·         facebook.com/pittsfieldtv

·         youtube.com/onlyonpctv

·         facebook.com/pittsfieldtv

·         facebook.com/NAACPBerkshires

You can find more information on the Women of Color Giving Circle on Facebook, HERE.

There is more available on the Rites of Passage and Empowerment Program or R.O.P.E., HERE.

You can also find more information about the Virtual Kwanzaa Celebration on the events Facebook page, HERE.

LOOK: The top holiday toys from the year you were born

With the holiday spirit in the air, it’s the perfect time to dive into the history of iconic holiday gifts. Using national toy archives and data curated by The Strong from 1920 to today, Stacker searched for products that caught hold of the public zeitgeist through novelty, innovation, kitsch, quirk, or simply great timing, and then rocketed to success.

Answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

Vaccinations for COVID-19 began being administered in the U.S. on Dec. 14, 2020. The quick rollout came a little more than a year after the virus was first identified in November 2019. The impressive speed with which vaccines were developed has also left a lot of people with a lot of questions. The questions range from the practical—how will I get vaccinated?—to the scientific—how do these vaccines even work?

Keep reading to discover answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions.

LOOK: Things from the year you were born that don't exist anymore

The iconic (and at times silly) toys, technologies, and electronics have been usurped since their grand entrance, either by advances in technology or breakthroughs in common sense. See how many things on this list trigger childhood memories—and which ones were here and gone so fast you missed them entirely.

More From WUPE