Get ready to celebrate local music, dance, art and culture with a free daylong event on the National Mall.
Words Beats & Life hosts the DMV Made Festival on Saturday from 1 to 7:30 p.m. with free performances, workshops and activities on 14th Street and Jefferson Drive in Southwest D.C.
“This is an inaugural festival,” Words Beats & Life Executive Director Mazi Mutafa told WTOP. “We are part of a national initiative called Arts for Everybody. There’s going to be 18 activations all across the country, including Hawaii, so we’re organizing the D.C. activation. … There are activations happening literally from California to Rhode Island, from Florida to Texas.”
The creative idea was launched during the pandemic, inspired by an initiative during the Great Depression.
“This idea was developed by a set of artists during the pandemic because art was deemed nonessential,” Mutafa said. “This was the vision by artists to center art as something that is valuable for the health and wellness of the country. … This was inspired by something that happened during the Great Depression when the federal government funded theater productions in 18 cities across the country on a single day, so that’s the blueprint.”
Here’s the full lineup for all five stages on the National Mall this Saturday:
Main Stage (1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.)
1:30 — 1:50 p.m.: Cryptid Summer
2:10 — 2:35 p.m.: Substantial
2:55 — 3:35 p.m.: Be’la Dona
3:45 — 4:15 p.m.: DuPont Brass Band
4:35 — 5:15 p.m.: Sweet Honey in the Rock
5:35 — 6:15 p.m.: Chuck Brown Band
6:35 — 7:30 p.m.: The Blackbyrds
Concert Stage (1:50 p.m. to 4:35 p.m.)
1:50 — 2:10 p.m.: Jay Mills
2:35 — 2:55 p.m.: Flex Mathews & Band
3:25 — 3:45 p.m.: East of the River Steelband
4:15 — 4:35 p.m.: Batalá Washington
Storytelling & Poetry Pavillion (1 p.m. to 4:35 p.m.)
1 — 1:30 p.m.: The Artist Network hosted by Stephanie Coleman
1:50 — 2:10 p.m.: Dialect of Prince George’s hosted by Project MC
2:35 — 2:55 p.m.: Liberated Muse hosted by Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman
3:25 — 3:45 p.m.: Spit Dat hosted by Drew Anderson
4:15 — 4:35 p.m.: Story District hosted by Amy Saidman
Family Stage (1 p.m. to 4:35 p.m.)
1 — 1:30 p.m.: Capital City Summer Mass Marching Band Program of Washington, D.C.
1:50 — 2:10 p.m.: Ebony Sunshine Inc (Puppet show)
2:35 — 2:55 p.m.: African Drum Circle with Drumlady (Kristen Arant)
3:25 — 3:45 p.m.: Juggling Performance and Workshop
4:15 — 4:35 p.m.: Juggling Performance and Workshop
Dance Stage by One Take Studios (1 p.m. to 4:35 p.m.)
1 — 1:30 p.m.: Open Dance Floor
1:50 — 2:10 p.m.: Step Afrika! (Stepping)
2:35 — 2:55 p.m.: Miss Chief Rocka (hoop dancing, powwow dancing)
3:25 — 3:45 p.m.: The Lion’s Den (Hip-Hop Dance)
4:15 — 4:35 p.m.: National Hand Dance Association
“Looking forward to seeing you Saturday at what will be an amazing festival blending arts, culture, health and wellness,” Mutafa said. “Come learn what folks are doing in your community and how you can get involved.”
Listen to our full conversation here.
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