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Philadelphia to mark Kwanzaa Saturday

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA Marking the African American holiday of Kwanzaa, local civic leaders will hold a citywide "Kwanzaabration" Saturday at Audenreid High School in South Philadelphia.

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA Marking the African American holiday of Kwanzaa, local civic leaders will hold a citywide "Kwanzaabration" Saturday at Audenreid High School in South Philadelphia.

The free indoor festival will be hosted by music impresario and developer Kenny Gamble and Bumi Fernandez, head of Odunde 365, a group dedicated to cultural enrichment in the African American community. It will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and feature activities for children and families.

Kwanzaabration will include a pavilion with free health screenings, a children's pavilion with face painting, arts and crafts, and a fashion show.

Live entertainment will include children's dance and singing groups and a performance by the Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble. During the festivities, a candle will be lighted to mark each of Kwanzaa's seven principles, known as the Nguzo Saba.

Kwanzaa, which begins Thursday, was developed in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, professor and chair of the department of Africana studies at California State University at Long Beach, to bring African Americans together.

The name is derived from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, which means first fruits. Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa, which begins Thursday, marks one of the seven principles.

The principles are umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity), and imani (faith).

For more information, go to www.kwanzaabration.org.

215-854-5717