Event

Evenings in the Garden: Ancestral Story Share

October 26, 2024 6:00PM
Martin Luther King Jr. Community Garden & Park - Carlton Avenue, Bethlehem

Join us for four sessions exploring the growth and stories of local plants and people, encouraging hands-on interaction with the garden. Each session will be led by community gardener, musician, and artist Nia Watson, along with guest storytellers.

Register here.  Advanced registration is appreciated but not required.

 

Ancestral Story Share

Saturday, October 26, 6 pm

The Lehigh valley community is invited to gather in the garden with songs, photos, mental memory stories and tradition stories that have been passed down over time. There will be the opportunity to share these cherished memorabilia in small groups or as a whole. The garden will be transtormed into a space to hold such energy. Ceremony and ritual is intertwined in all of our lives all around the world in different ways. This is a chance to break from the routines that consume our day to day and gather in love with one another.

This program was made possible in part by Southside Tomorrow, a 6-year revitalization program of Community Action Development Bethlehem and the City of Bethlehem, with support from Univest Bank & Trust Co., Embassy Bank for the Lehigh Valley, People’s Security Bank and Trust, PPL Electric Utilities, and Provident Bank.

Nia Watson is a song poet & educator, and has evolved into her art form over the last six years. Taking journal entries and transforming them into song poems inspired by life experiences. Influenced by nature, specifically birds, their flying patterns and songs. She creates other visuals as well when inspired. Nia is also a yoga instructor offering diverse classes to the valley for the past decade. She has taught early childhood since 2009.  Currently, Nia is in the midst of learning to be a birth worker to support birthing beings themselves and those who are growing within them from conceiving to postpartum. Her classes and community offerings weave all the parts of herself together. Offering movement with a touch of playfulness and songs to soothe everyone present. Nia has performed here in the Valley, Philadelphia Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro. She hopes to keep learning and growing and sharing the lessons she learns along the way.