KWANZAA CELEBRATION AT WEBB CENTER SATURDAY

A Kwanzaa celebration will be held from 6-9:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, in the North Cafeteria of Webb Center at Old Dominion University. The event will feature food, poetry, African dance and drumming, and a fashion show sponsored by a local merchant.

Kwanzaa, a cultural holiday celebrated by people of African descent, highlights seven fundamental principles that reinforce family, community and cultural ties. Those values include unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

Kwanzaa, which means "first fruits" in the African language of Kiswahili, traditionally is held from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.
Admission is $2 for Old Dominion students; $5 for non-Old Dominion students. Proceeds benefit The Dads' Network, which provides mentors and employment contacts for young, single African American fathers in Hampton Roads.

Atumpann, a local African drumming and story-telling group and Minds About Progress serve as co-sponsors for the event with the Black Student Alliance and the National Pan-Hellenic Council also contributing.
The holiday was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, professor and chair of the department of black studies at California State University, Long Beach.

To learn more about the history or guiding principles of Kwanzaa, visit the holiday's official Web site at www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.

For more information, contact Corey Staten, Kwanzaa committee chair, at 377-4782.