MANHATTAN — Christmas is done and Hanukkah is nearly over — but Kwanzaa is just beginning.
The weeklong celebration of African-American culture and values begins Monday and runs through New Year's Day, bringing an array of festive events to Manhattan.
The American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at West 79th Street, will host its 32nd annual Kwanzaa celebration Dec. 31 from noon to 4 p.m. Multicultural performers will include The Brooklyn Steppers, Restoration Dance Theatre Company, ADLIB Steel Orchestra and Something Positive, Inc., an interactive storytelling group.
Throughout the day, the museum's food court will sell special Kwanzaa-themed foods, and a Kwanzaa marketplace will sell artwork.
Traditionally, each day of Kwanzaa focuses on a different African value, beginning with unity, or "umoja" in Swahili, and ending with faith, or "imani."
The Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 W. 125th St., will host two programs on Dec. 29 to tap into another one of the seven values: "kuumba," or creativity.
Children will be able to make collages and go on scavenger hunts of the museum's galleries from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., while adults can join a conversation with quilt and fiber artist Ife Felix from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Also in Harlem, the Apollo Theater, 253 W. 125th St., will host its 5th Annual Regeneration Night Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Dance and music performers — including Craig Harris and the Tailgaters Tale, Michael Wimberly, Yacuba Sissoko and members of the Harlem Children’s Zone/Forces of Nature’s Youth Academy — will convey themes of family, community and culture.
Kwanzaa was created in 1966 as a cultural holiday that honors African heritage.
Those who observe Kwanzaa light a candle on each of the seven days to mark the seven values. The holiday ends with a feast on Jan. 1.
