SONG, MOVEMENT, AND POETRY made for a joyful capstone to the school year in Civic Circle workshops. With songwriter and teaching artist Munit Mesfin, two student groups at Arcola Elementary School showcased the civic songs they had written for one another, and discussed their creative choices in a conversation across the grade levels. At the Pembridge Square Apartments, students sang songs about kindness, community and their dreams for the future with Lilo Gonzalez, who made a splash with students who joined him on drums and percussion instruments.
At the Columbia Heights Education Campus, students in Grades 6-8 wrote poetry about how community informs identity and a sense of place in their concluding “World View Wednesdays” workshop with poet Malachi Byrd. The Civic Circle thanks the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Montgomery Housing Partnership, the D.C. Collaborative, and the Newburger-Schwartz Family Foundation for making these workshops possible.
NEXT UP ARE SUMMER CAMPS offered in collaboration with Montgomery Housing Partnership and Community CHEER. The Civic Circle is excited to welcome choreographer Carolina Hernandez to a residency with middle school students in MHP’s Future Leaders of Tomorrow summer program. Students will explore Hispanic culture and belonging through movement and dance. At Community CHEER’s Camp Piney Branch, elementary school campers will work with visual artist Kelsey Joyce to create civic art exploring kindness and respect (Listen!), finding the truth (Learn), and freedom of expression (Speak!). Big thanks to the teaching artists and team members who are bringing these civic art opportunities to students in our community.
CIVIC CELEBRATIONS are on the horizon this summer, as The Civic Circle gears up for Big Train Baseball at Shirley Povich Field on Sunday, July 20 at 7 p.m. Come sit with us! We will have a special block of seats, and will throw out the ceremonial opening pitch as that evening’s “Community Heroes.” Big thanks to Bethesda Big Train for this honor! If you would like to enjoy America’s most civic pastime and a night of summer college baseball with team Civic Circle on July 20, please email info@theciviccircle.org. To learn more about Bethesda Big Train baseball and see the whole summer schedule, please click HERE.
We also invite you to join us for a night of comedy for a good cause at Give a Hoot Comedy Club, which will host comedian Sean Shank in an evening of laughs benefiting The Civic Circle on Friday, August 1 and Saturday, August 2. Sean’s been on CBS Stand-up Spotlight, Showtime’s Comedy on the Road, among other gigs. Sit with friends of The Civic Circle, enjoy delicious food and drink, and support our work! Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show begins 8 p.m. Purchase tickets HERE, and click HERE for more info.
The civic enthusiasm and energy shared by our students gives us hope, but these are challenging times for democracy, and for nonprofits and youth-serving programs. Amid cuts to the arts, humanities and education, we need your help to continue this work, and meet the increasingly urgent need for civic understanding and engagement. Our workshops celebrate core civic principles that unite us as Americans, including tolerance, equality, truth, justice and freedom. Cast your vote for these principles, and for democracy, by clicking HERE.