On Saturday and Sunday, April 24th and 25th, 2021 WorldBeat Center welcomed families back for the Birds and Arts Celebration. It was our first in-person event since the pandemic closed most everything down, and it was a beautiful reunion for friends and families. “The Birds and Arts Celebration,” was an outdoor event celebrating National Poetry Month, and California’s Arts, Culture and Creativity Month. All County and State approved COVID-19 Safety Protocols were followed during the event for everyone’s continued wellbeing.
The two-day family event featured poetry, spoken word, storytelling, bird arts exhibit, arts and crafts for children, walkthroughs of WorldBeat Center’s new Healing Peace Garden, wellness vendors and a plant music concert featuring succulents and violinist, Jamie Shadowlight. Children’s activities included arts and crafts where they made bird masks and buttons with messaging around Earth Day. There was also a morning birdwatch activity using the Celebrate Urban Birds Project. Families learned about San Diego’s local birds and shared their experiences with them. We followed the protocol on bird watching for the CUBs program and families took a packet with them. They also learned about the importance of building a habitat for birds and took seeds home. There was also a beautiful art exhibit that featured bird paintings and photographs by Marta Blackwell and Ingrid Castillon. Our highlight bird for the exhibit and throughout the event was the American Crow.
Photo courtesy of WorldBeat Center
The Birds and Arts Celebration featured female violinist Jamie Shadowlight, who performed a calming and enchanting electric violin solo sound experience for our audience. Alongside Jamie there was also a live plant concert with the healing sounds of plant music. We have found that each plant concert is unique because the selected plant musicians may decide not to play but the suspense is always worth the result for the attendees.
Photo courtesy of WorldBeat Center
We can’t thank enough the volunteers and incredible talent that took to the stage each day. Some people drove long distances and even flew into San Diego to participate in this very special event.
Written by WorldBeat Cultural Center