Black History’s big month

Plenty of opportunities to experience the best African- and Caribbean-Canadiana has to offer this February

SUNNY CONTINENTAL DUDS: From African Fashion Show 2011
COURTESY OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Black History Month is back, so without further ado, here’s a quick guide to all the workshops, conferences, cultural activities and more going down around town all February. For the complete list, see montrealblackhistorymonth.com.

There will be a number of big shows throughout the month, beginning with an African Fashion Show, created by the Concordia African Students Association, at the Clarke Theatre (1455 de Maison­neuve W., 8 p.m.) on Friday, Feb. 3. The Miss Africa Gala beauty pageant will be held on Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Centre Pierre-Peladeau (300 de Maisonneuve E., 7 p.m.), the Black Expo Design, fea­turing fashion by leading black designers, takes place at the Loft Hotel (334 Terrace St-Denis, 7 p.m.) on Feb. 24, and the Black History Month Gospel music night goes down at the MCI (5685 Chau­veau, 7 p.m.) on Saturday, Feb. 25. There are plenty of others to see as well.

Music always features strongly during BHM, and this year is no exception. Kicking it off this year is Ethiopian-American singer and Mirror cover subject Meklit Hadero at Cabaret Mile-End (5240 Parc, 8:30 p.m.) tonight, Thursday, Feb. 2. Haiti’s Danielle Guillaume and Yanick Dutelly perform the following Saturday, Feb. 4, also at the Cabaret Mile-End, while Club Balattou (4372 St-Lau­rent) will be jumping all month thanks to its links with Nuits D’Afrique. Congo’s Blaise La Bamba gets it started on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 9 p.m.

For people who enjoy hands-on cultural experiences, five different workshops are planned, including Simply Beautiful, a workshop on hair at Concordia’s Loyola campus (7141 Sherbrooke W., 7 p.m.) on Thurs­day, Feb. 9. Other workshops include “instructive and amusing karaoke” (Feb. 4 & 11, 4675 Industriel Blvd., 5:30 p.m.), African cooking (Feb. 11, 1886 Ontario E., 12:30 p.m.), cooking bananas (Feb. 25, 1886 Ontario E., noon) and the Monnaie Money Talent Show, a workshop/concert for kids having to do with finances (Feb. 25, Westmount High Auditorium, 4350 Ste-Catherine W., 6 p.m.).

Plenty of talk about Haiti this year, two years after its devastating earthquake. There’s Nou Pa P Bliye 7 Feb. 1986, which will address the fall of the Duvalier regime/dynasty on Feb. 7 at Bistro Tribu Terre (2590 Jarry E., 7 p.m.), a Feb. 6 Concordia conference on working in the Caribbean (1455 de Maisonneuve W., CSU offices, 7th floor, noon), a Feb. 9–10 colloquium on Haiti at Université de Montréal (3150 Jean-Brilliant, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.) and a conference on Haitian painting on Feb. 11 at the Musée des maîtres et artisans (615 Ste-Croix, 6 p.m.).

Visual arts and photography will also be well represented. Tonight, Thursday, Feb. 2, the “Let’s Talk About Our Immigrant Roots” photo exhibit takes place at the Centre Culturel Georges-Vanier (2450 Workman, 7–11 p.m.). Visuals on escaping racism between 1800 and 1970 will be on display. Running until Feb. 29 is the “Legends of African Football” exhibit at the Maison de l’Afrique (6256 Henri-Julien), a fitting complement to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament currently underway in Gabon and Equitoreal Guinea. And on Tuesday, Feb. 14, Concordia will put up the “African Inventors” display in the Loyola library atrium (7141 Sherbrooke E., 10 a.m.–10 p.m.).

The National Film Board (1564 St-Denis) will host a series of screenings dealing with Black history and identity, including Massimadi, the African and Caribbean LGBT film festival (Feb. 9–12). The inter­national festival features both documentaries and features, dramas and comedies—it’s a great chance to see movies you won’t see elsewhere. ■

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