RESERVE YOUR SEAT today for The Civic Circle’s Democracy concert! This family-friendly event will take place on Saturday, October 26 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Busboys & Poets in Takoma Park.
We’ll celebrate voting with original civic art pieces created and performed by students in our community. We'll also enjoy civic poetry and songs by artists and performers Malachi Byrd, Lilo Gonzalez, Munit Mesfin, Nick Newlin, and Gabrielle Zwi.
Highlights will include the chance to write a collective poem with Malachi, and to sing along on songs about voting and democracy. Attendance is free, but space is limited! Reserve your tickets HERE today. To sponsor, click HERE. Big thanks to our collaborators, Arts on the Block, Carpe Diem Arts and Action Youth Media, and to this event’s generous sponsors: the Takoma Foundation, the Maryland State Arts Council, and RTI International.
MALACHI BYRD ALSO SUPPORTED our group’s expansion into the upper grades with a dynamic poetry workshop that reached 200 students in Grades 6-8 at Silver Spring International Middle School. Malachi shared an original poem about voting that he had just written (“My Voice”), engaged the students in collective poetry writing, and got them involved in a lively discussion about why voting matters, including a debate about the merits and likelihood of D.C. statehood.
Students are also learning about democracy and voting at our civic arts workshops at Weller Road and Wheaton Woods Elementary Schools this fall, sponsored by Excel Beyond the Bell, and at Blair High School workshops offered in collaboration with Liberty’s Promise and sponsored by the Takoma Foundation.
VOTING IS IN THE AIR, and The Civic Circle is joining in several community events to promote and celebrate the vote. We joined Montgomery College for its Voter Education and Mock Polling Booth event this month. We also helped students create “I Voted” stickers and bling at Promote the Vote, a nonpartisan fall festival organized by The Yellow Roses, a youth advocacy and service learning initiative.
The Civic Circle is also honored to be a sponsor of Arts on the Block’s upcoming film screening and discussion of the documentary “Dying to Vote.” The film begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Silver Spring Civic Center, and will be followed by a discussion. Register HERE.
TO HELP GROW the next generation of voters, volunteers and civic leaders, please click HERE or on the button below. Now is the time to engage in democracy, and encourage the next generation to do the same!