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City of Riviera Beach celebrates first day of Kwanzaa

Posted at 2:19 PM, Dec 26, 2021
and last updated 2021-12-26 18:36:09-05

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Hanukkah and Christmas are officially over but the holidays are just getting started for those celebrating Kwanzaa.

Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration of life and black culture which begins Sunday.

Each day has a different value in life to celebrate starting with unity.

In Rivera Beach the 2nd annual Kwanzaa Bash at the Marina Village Promenade will take place from 10am - 3pm.

The "Afrique Ngozi Dance and Drum" group are performing at the event and say the the best way to learn about Black culture is through the arts, so they welcome everyone to come out and celebrate as a community at the marina.

"Unity is extremely important and being a part of a community and bringing in unity does not mean that we all have the same spiritual or religious or any other belief, it means coming together and having an understanding and respect for who we are," said Shanna L Woods, a dance teacher with Afrique Ngozi Dance and Drum Group.

The group practices weekly and says Kwanzaa is the start of a busy performance season and will be performing throughout Palm Beach County with their next performance at The Square (formerly known as CityPlace and Rosemary Square) in West Palm Beach December 27th.

As cities and towns put on various Kwanzaa events the group says it's a huge step towards diversity and awareness on Black culture.

"When I first started my business we were the only ones putting on Kwanzaa events in Palm Beach County but now there's many options so I'm happy that cities are embracing the culture I'm happy that others are recognizing it, and for us it's a win-win because our dancers are able to celebrate something that we do year round," said Khinuu Nefer the owner and a dance instructor at Afrique Ngozi Dance and Drum Inc.