In honour of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024), Bravo Niagara! presents Voices of Freedom Festival from September 28 to October 6, 2017. In 2017, the Voices of Freedom Festival will become a bi-national initiative in partnership with the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, a region designated by U.S. Congress stretching from Niagara Falls, NY to Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown, NY, and the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area. This bi-national partnership will illuminate the significant Black history on both sides of the Niagara River and will celebrate the cultural and historic contributions of Canadians and Americans of African descent. The festival will include educational musical performances, symposia, and free interactive programming for youth.

Voices of Freedom Festival (formerly North Star Festival: Voices of Freedom) will commemorate and celebrate Canada's significant Black history and highlight the ongoing journey to freedom. Through the arts, Bravo Niagara! strives to foster intercultural dialogue and raise awareness of the historic and cultural contributions made by people of African descent.

Bravo Niagara!'s Voices of Freedom Festival will also raise awareness of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake's Voices of Freedom Park, an experiential art installation commemorating Niagara-on-the-Lake's significant Black history, which is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

Visit www.voicesoffreedomfestival.org for more information.

Schedule of events:

Voices Of Freedom Festival Symposium - Free Event

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

1:00PM  4:00PM

NIAGARA HISTORICAL MUSEUM (MAP)

Featured speakers include Natasha Henry, an educator, historian, and award-winning author; Nerene Virgin, historical research consultant and former CBC National newsanchor; Alan Smith, an educator and researcher for the Canadian Encyclopedia; and Donna Ford, President of the Central Ontario Network for Black History.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

11:30AM  12:30PM

HARRIET TUBMAN PUBLIC SCHOOL (MAP)

There are many plays about Harriet Tubman, but none share her entire life story like a visit with The Spirit of Harriet Tubman. Leslie McCurdy invokes the 'spirit' of Harriet Tubman as she portrays the life of the famous Underground Railroad conductor, recreating stories familiar and some rarely told, using words said to have been Harriet Tubman¹s own.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

2:00PM  3:00PM

SALEM CHAPEL - BME CHURCH (MAP)

Historian and leading Harriet Tubman scholar Kate Clifford Larson gives a free lecture at Salem Chapel BME Church, a National Historic Site. Harriet Tubman was a frequent resident of St. Catharines from 1851-1861 and attended this church.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

7:30PM  9:30PM

FIRST ONTARIO PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE - PARTRIDGE HALL (MAP)

Canadian superstar soprano Measha Brueggergosman performs her latest album 'Songs of Freedom' with special guest Wycliffe Gordon.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

11:00AM  12:00PM

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE PUBLIC LIBRARY (MAP)

Meet superstar soprano Measha Brueggergosman at a book talk and signing for her new memoir Something Is Always On Fire. Presented in partnership with the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

1:00PM  3:00PM

PARTRIDGE HALL - FIRSTONTARIO PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (MAP)

This free workshop presented in partnership with the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre will be led by John Parks, former principal dancer of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and includes excerpts of Ailey repertoire.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017

7:30PM  9:30PM

PARTRIDGE HALL - FIRSTONTARIO PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (MAP)

Bravo Niagara! and FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre present a rare Canadian performance by Grammy Award-winning bassist & vocalist Richard Bona!

Quincy Jones calls him "simply one of the talented dudes on this planet!"

TorQ Percussion Quartet - Free Canada 150 Birthday Bash Concert