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Healing Peace Garden
Healing Peace Garden

Our Mission Statement

The WorldBeat Center is a nonprofit multi-cultural arts organization that is dedicated to promoting, preserving, and celebrating the African Diaspora & Indigenous cultures of the world. Through consciousness raising, we strive to promote peace within our San Diego community by providing ongoing programs and services that nurture the spirit of children, the elderly, and everything in between.

About the WorldBeat cultural Center

Creating Unity Through Diversity

Since our founding nearly thirty years ago, our doors have been open every day to all people as a place to celebrate all cultures, art, music, dance, and people – regardless of color or creed.

Through our doors, you’ll find murals by local artists brightly commemorating important leaders and historical cultures, multiple galleries and small shops serving healthy local foods, locally sourced goods, and a gallery of art and artifacts. Flags of all nations fly from the ceiling, while the stage and dance floor have hosted hundreds of famous and upcoming acts, artists, and events over the years.

Our Upcoming Events

Our Healing Peace Garden

Programming supported by

CL_CUBs_PMS298_logoB_smalland NSF Logo

What is the Healing Peace Garden?

WorldBeat Center’s Healing Peace Garden is an urban oasis featuring countless rare edible and medicinal plants that hold cultural significance. The garden was designed as a special place to help teach our community about the healing role of plants in society.

Today, the garden acts as an Outdoor Classroom and offers a wide variety of programs at the Garden, including citizen science through Celebrate Urban Birds, school tours, Summer Camp programs, internship programs, workshops, events and STEM research projects. As the first sustainable, edible garden in Balboa Park, this unique spot is also a Certified Monarch Waystation and a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

Why the Healing Peace Garden was Created
Why the Healing Peace Garden was Created
Why the Healing Peace Garden was Created
Why the Healing Peace Garden was CreatedWhy the Healing Peace Garden was Created
Why the Healing Peace Garden was Created

Why was the Healing Peace Garden created?

Designed to educate families about healthy foods and provide access to green spaces, the garden acts as a welcoming quiet sanctuary for all of our visitors. In addition, thanks to the Noise Project an NSF grant research project (No. #DRL-1811234) we have identified the Garden as a “healing garden” or “noise refuge” that serves as a buffer zone and sanctuary against the surrounding urban noise pollution and a place to destress and relax.

Currently, we are working towards developing an extension to the garden dedicated to children, the “Enchanted Children’s Sound Garden”. Reach out if you would like to support.

How can I visit Healing Peace Garden?

The Garden welcomes K-12 schools, college groups as well as homeschool families for planned workshops and tours. We also welcome bookings through the Healing Gardens website and private tours can also be arranged. The garden is also open for special collaborative events and workshops throughout the year.

Juneteenth: A Legacy of Freedom and Hope

As the nation celebrates Juneteenth today, we are reminded of a profound and often overlooked chapter in American history—the day the last enslaved African Americans were finally freed. On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, Union General Gordon Granger announced the...

Quilt Codes and Nature’s Guidance on the Underground Railroad

Quilt Codes and Nature's Guidance on the Underground Railroad By Makeda Cheatom In the unwritten history books, the Underground Railroad was a beacon of hope for enslaved African Americans seeking freedom. That is why we need cultural centers like the WorldBeat...

Exemplary Home for Humanity

On October 29th, a momentous event took place as the Home for Humanity Movement for Planetary Regenerative officially recognized the WorldBeat Cultural Center as an "Exemplary Home for Humanity." The ceremony, held from 3 PM to 5 PM, was a celebration of the center's...

Celebrating Capoeira Graduates

WorldBeat Center would like to celebrate all the graduates and initiates that participated in this year’s Capoeira batisado with Os Malandros De Mestre Touro and Mestre Preto Velho at WorldBeat Cultural Center. On October 28th, 2023 over 30 students received their...

Taste of Africa Brings Unity

Balboa Park's WorldBeat Cultural Center hosted the eagerly anticipated Taste of Africa event on Saturday, October 21st, from 2 PM to 8 PM. Last year's edition of this event was a spectacular success, and it returned with even more excitement, promising a day filled...

The Shared History of Gullah Geechee Red Rice and West African Jollof Rice

WorldBeat Center's second annual Taste of Africa event will take place on Saturday, October 21st, and it is a vibrant celebration of culture, tradition, and the flavors that connect the African diaspora to their West African roots. This year's event promised an...

Who Controls, The Seeds Controls The Land

The Heirloom Expo, an annual event, unfolded at the Ventura Fairgrounds from September 12th to 14th, 2023, offering not only an educational experience but a vital necessity for humanity in these times. This event, made possible by the generous support of Baker Creek...

WorldBeat Takes Over the Children’s Hall at the Heirloom Expo!

A decade ago, WorldBeat Center embarked on a meaningful journey of collaborating with the Celebrate Urban Birds project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a venture that later extended into two national projects generously funded by the National Science Foundation....

Exploring the Hidden Treasures of Afro-Mexican Culture in Costa Chica, Oaxaca

In a memorable journey, WorldBeat embarked on an eye-opening exploration of Afro-Mexican culture in Costa Chica, Oaxaca, Mexico. Our adventure began on August 26th, when we landed in the coastal town of Puerto Escondido. This quietly known destination is a magnet for...

Remebering Marcus Mosiah Garvey On His Birthday: Champion of Black Empowerment and Unity

On August 17th, we came together to commemorate the birth of a visionary leader, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, whose enduring impact on the global struggle for Black empowerment and unity continues to resonate today. Born in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica, in 1887, Garvey's legacy...

About Our Founder

The WorldBeat Cultural Center was founded by Makeda Cheatom in 1993. It’s first location was an annex in Old Town and San Diego and in 1995 WorldBeat Center was granted entry to its current location in Balboa Park.

Her dream began with the complete transformation and revitalization of a then-abandoned water tower on the edge of Balboa Park in the heart of downtown. Complete with colorful murals, art galleries, and peaceful gardens, the Center has since become one of the most important multicultural art and event centers in San Diego.

Since the Center’s founding, Makeda has produced hundreds of programs and presented artists from wide cultural genres represented within the cultural center. Makeda has received numerous awards for her service to the community, and in 2012, she was inducted into the San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame.

"Music, Art and Dance will unite and heal the world."

- MAKEDA CHEATOM

Thank you to our supporters!