San Diego Taiko at December Nights 2025
2025-12-06 13:30 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | WorldBeat Center, 2100 Park Blvd, San Diego, 92101, United States
This December 6th, WorldBeat Center’s San Diego Taiko group will be participating in the annual December Nights weekend celebration. Join us for a heart-pounding celebration of rhythm, culture, and community.
Catch their electrifying live performance at the Spanish Village Stage on Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 1:30PM – 2:00PM
Since 2004, this dynamic group has brought the power of Japanese drumming statewide through vibrant performances and workshops. As WorldBeat Center’s longest-running class, they’ve inspired audiences for over 20 years. San Diego Taiko has performed at the Japanese Gardens in Balboa Park, and other festivals throughout California. They are a major influence of the Taiko Palooza, which brings several taiko groups from Southern California together for sold out concerts at the WorldBeat Center. Taiko drumming is a powerful and dynamic form of Japanese percussion, combining music, and culture.
https://www.sandiegotaiko.org/

Swing Into The Holidays
2025-12-12 19:00 - 20:30
A LIVE JAZZ AND DIGITAL ARTS COLLABORATION FEATURING MIMI LUV, THE WORLD BEAT CENTER JAZZ BANDS &
SAN DIEGO PRIDE POP UP SYMPHONY MUSICIANS!
FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENT, KIDS WELCOME!

Harriet Tubman trail - SOCal Bird Nerds in the Wild
2025-12-14 08:00 - 10:00
Join SoCal Bird Nerds and WorldBeat Cultural Center for a refreshing morning of birdwatching along Balboa Park’s beautiful Harriet Tubman Trail. Whether you’re an experienced birder or brand new to the practice, this outing offers a welcoming space to explore nature, learn together, and connect with the birds that call our urban oasis home.
What to Expect
Participants will be guided through lush canyon pathways and garden areas where a variety of local and migratory birds can be spotted. Bring your binoculars, curiosity, and love for the outdoors!
Meeting Point
Meet in front of the WorldBeat Center by the main entrance.
Parking is available across the street in the large Inspiration Point lot. A short walk leads directly to the WorldBeat Center.

Location: WorldBeat Cultural Center, Balboa Park
Address: 2100 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101

Community Market at WorldBeat Center
2025-12-14 10:00 - 16:00
Join us for the Community Market at the WorldBeat Cultural Center!

Now a growing tradition in Balboa Park, the Community Market is your monthly destination for culture, creativity, and connection—happening every second Sunday from 11AM to 4PM.
Come support local artisans and makers while finding one-of-a-kind holiday gifts. Every purchase helps strengthen our local economy and uplift small businesses that make our community shine.

World Meditation Day
2025-12-21 10:30 - 12:00
To raise awareness of meditation and its many benefits, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed December 21 as World Meditation Day, affirming the right of all people to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The General Assembly also recognizes the deep connection between yoga and meditation as complementary practices that support holistic well-being.
Join us at WorldBeat Cultural Center for a Worldwide Meditation led by Aditi from The Art of Living, as communities across the globe come together in collective stillness and intention.
Sunday, December 21Doors open: 10:45 AMMeditation: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration: December 26th, Umoja
2025-12-26 18:00 - 21:00
45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration
Doors 6pm | Program 6:30PM
WorldBeat Cultural Center invites the community to celebrate its 45th Annual Kwanzaa, honoring four of the seven days of this African American cultural holiday rooted in African traditions. Observed from December 26 to January 1, Kwanzaa centers on the Nguzo Saba—the Seven Principles: Umoja-Unity, Kujichagulia- Self-Determination, Ujima – Collective Work & Responsibility, Ujamaa – Cooperative Economics, Nia – Purpose, Kuumba – Creativity, and Imani – Faith.
Each evening features ceremonial candle lighting, libations, African drumming, poetry, music, and reflections from featured speakers and performers aligned with the night’s principle. Guests will also share in the Karamu, the traditional Kwanzaa feast plate, featuring black-eyed peas, collard greens, gumbo, potato salad, and corn muffins. This year’s celebration also launches the inaugural Kwanzaa Awards, honoring individuals whose work embodies the values of the Nguzo Saba. All events are free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Advance RSVP encouraged.
Each evening will be hosted by MC Selah Black Sol and Sidiqa Hooker

Day 1: Friday, December 26th – Umoja, Unity
Guest Speakers and Performances
Starla Lewis
Starla Lewis is a Professor Emerita of Black Studies at San Diego Mesa College, a renowned cultural leader, and the founder of C.E.L.L. (Celebration of Everlasting Life & Love). With more than forty years dedicated to education, diversity work, and women’s empowerment, she has inspired generations through her lectures, writings, and transformative coaching. A seven-time Teacher of the Year and inductee of the San Diego Women’s Hall of Fame, Lewis continues to champion unity and self-love through her teaching, books, and community leadership.
Dr. Derah (Dalene Brown)
Dr. Derah is a pioneering holistic health practitioner with over five decades of experience in natural healing, specializing in iridology, herbalism, and alternative wellness. As the founder of Total Health Products and At Your Service Health & Beauty Center, she has developed widely distributed herbal formulas and taught countless workshops on aligning physical health with spiritual purpose. Her life’s work centers on empowering people to reclaim vitality and balance through natural, ancestral healing practices.
Performance by Mariea Antoinette
Mariea Antoinette is an internationally acclaimed urban-jazz harpist known for blending classical technique with soulful contemporary sound. Her captivating performances bring elegance, rhythm, and a modern flair to the traditional harp, enchanting audiences worldwide.

This year also marks the inauguration of the Annual Kwanzaa Awards, honoring individuals whose work reflects the values of the Nguzo Saba, including Chuck Ambers, founder of the African Museum Casa del Rey Moro, Maria Lane, San Diego’s First Samba Instructor, Johnnierenee Nia Nelson, WorldBeat Center’s Poet Laurette. Dennis Newsome, Capoeira Angola Mestre, Global Teacher of Self-Love Starla Lewis, and Prince Habib, President of African-American Writers & Artists.

45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration: December 27th, Kujichagulia
2025-12-27 18:00 - 21:00
45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration
Doors 6pm | Program 6:30PM
WorldBeat Cultural Center invites the community to celebrate its 45th Annual Kwanzaa, honoring four of the seven days of this African American cultural holiday rooted in African traditions. Observed from December 26 to January 1, Kwanzaa centers on the Nguzo Saba—the Seven Principles: Umoja-Unity, Kujichagulia- Self-Determination, Ujima – Collective Work & Responsibility, Ujamaa – Cooperative Economics, Nia – Purpose, Kuumba – Creativity, and Imani – Faith.
Each evening features ceremonial candle lighting, libations, African drumming, poetry, music, and reflections from featured speakers and performers aligned with the night’s principle. Guests will also share in the Karamu, the traditional Kwanzaa feast plate, featuring black-eyed peas, collard greens, gumbo, potato salad, and corn muffins. This year’s celebration also launches the inaugural Kwanzaa Awards, honoring individuals whose work embodies the values of the Nguzo Saba. All events are free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Advance RSVP encouraged.
Each evening will be hosted by MC Selah Black Sol and Sidiqa Hooker

Day 2: Saturday, December 27th: Kujichagulia- Self-Determination
Keynote Speaker and Performance
Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black
Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black, a 2025 Pulitzer Prize–winning author and historian at Carnegie Mellon University, is a leading scholar of West African rice farmers and the African Diaspora, known for works such as Deep Roots and the co-edited Rice: Global Networks and New Histories. She has consulted for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and is the executive producer and librettist of the contemporary classical work Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice. Her latest book, COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War, uncovers Tubman’s overlooked role as a military spy and commander during the raid that freed 756 enslaved people—the largest slave rebellion in U.S. history. A descendant of Africans enslaved on South Carolina rice plantations and a U.S. Colored Troops soldier who fought in the raid, Fields-Black’s work bridges continents as she illuminates Gullah Geechee history, culture, and language through interdisciplinary research in the Low Country and West Africa.
Mariea Antoinette
Harpist Mariea Antoinette returns with her signature fusion of classical mastery and contemporary soul. Her dynamic, genre-bending style elevates every stage with warmth, virtuosity, and innovation.

This year also marks the inauguration of the Annual Kwanzaa Awards, honoring individuals whose work reflects the values of the Nguzo Saba, including Chuck Ambers, founder of the African Museum Casa del Rey Moro, Maria Lane, San Diego’s First Samba Instructor, Johnnierenee Nia Nelson, WorldBeat Center’s Poet Laurette. Dennis Newsome, Capoeira Angola Mestre, Starla Lewis, global teacher of self-love and Prince Habib, President of African-American Writers & Artists.

45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration: December 28th, Ujima
2025-12-28 18:00 - 21:00
45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration
Doors 6pm | Program 6:30PM
WorldBeat Cultural Center invites the community to celebrate its 45th Annual Kwanzaa, honoring four of the seven days of this African American cultural holiday rooted in African traditions. Observed from December 26 to January 1, Kwanzaa centers on the Nguzo Saba—the Seven Principles: Umoja-Unity, Kujichagulia- Self-Determination, Ujima – Collective Work & Responsibility, Ujamaa – Cooperative Economics, Nia – Purpose, Kuumba – Creativity, and Imani – Faith.
Each evening features ceremonial candle lighting, libations, African drumming, poetry, music, and reflections from featured speakers and performers aligned with the night’s principle. Guests will also share in the Karamu, the traditional Kwanzaa feast plate, featuring black-eyed peas, collard greens, gumbo, potato salad, and corn muffins. This year’s celebration also launches the inaugural Kwanzaa Awards, honoring individuals whose work embodies the values of the Nguzo Saba. All events are free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Advance RSVP encouraged.
Each evening will be hosted by MC Selah Black Sol and Sidiqa Hooker
Day 3: Sunday, December 28th: Ujima, Collective Work & Responsibility

Keynote Speakers and Performer
Ayanna Gregory
Ayanna Gregory is an educator, singer, dramatist, and activist whose work is rooted in healing, truth-telling, and the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. The daughter of human rights icon Dick Gregory, she uses music, theater, and storytelling to create transformative experiences that inspire courage, community, and self-love. Through works such as Daughter of the Struggle and her global Change Maker programs, Gregory continues to uplift audiences and empower new generations committed to justice and collective healing.
Shugri Said Salh
Shugri Said Salh is an award-winning author, nurse, and cultural storyteller whose memoir The Last Nomad chronicles her extraordinary journey from the Somali desert to life in the United States. Rooted in the oral traditions she learned from her grandmother, her work preserves Somali stories of resilience, identity, and survival while advocating for cultural memory and human connection. A recipient of multiple literary honors, Salh continues her mission as a storyteller, nurse, and community archivist in San Diego.
Performance by Tebe Zalango
Tebe Zalango brings the vibrant rhythms, songs, and movement of East Africa to the stage through powerful traditional performance. Their dynamic ensemble channels cultural pride, history, and community celebration through music and dance.

This year also marks the inauguration of the Annual Kwanzaa Awards, honoring individuals whose work reflects the values of the Nguzo Saba, including Chuck Ambers, founder of the African Museum Casa del Rey Moro, Maria Lane, San Diego’s First Samba Instructor, Johnnierenee Nia Nelson, WorldBeat Center’s Poet Laurette. Dennis Newsome, Capoeira Angola Mestre, Starla Lewis, Global Teacher of Self-Love and Prince Habib, President of African American Writers & Artists.

45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration: December 29th, Ujamaa
2025-12-29 18:00 - 21:00
45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration
Doors 6pm | Program 6:30PM
WorldBeat Cultural Center invites the community to celebrate its 45th Annual Kwanzaa, honoring four of the seven days of this African American cultural holiday rooted in African traditions. Observed from December 26 to January 1, Kwanzaa centers on the Nguzo Saba—the Seven Principles: Umoja-Unity, Kujichagulia- Self-Determination, Ujima – Collective Work & Responsibility, Ujamaa – Cooperative Economics, Nia – Purpose, Kuumba – Creativity, and Imani – Faith.
Each evening features ceremonial candle lighting, libations, African drumming, poetry, music, and reflections from featured speakers and performers aligned with the night’s principle. Guests will also share in the Karamu, the traditional Kwanzaa feast plate, featuring black-eyed peas, collard greens, gumbo, potato salad, and corn muffins. This year’s celebration also launches the inaugural Kwanzaa Awards, honoring individuals whose work embodies the values of the Nguzo Saba. All events are free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Advance RSVP encouraged.
Hosted by MC Sidiqa Hooker aka Soulspiration

Day 4: Monday, December 29th: Ujamaa, Cooperative Economics
Performance Highlights
Performance by Tebe Zalango
Tebe Zalango shares the energy and spirit of East African cultural traditions through drumming, dance, and vibrant ensemble performance. Their artistry highlights the power of community collaboration and cultural continuity.
Performance by WorldBeat Center’s African Drum and Dance Ensemble
Master drummer Dramane Koné and his ensemble deliver an electrifying showcase of West African percussion and movement. Their performances celebrate ancestral rhythms, collective expression, and the enduring spirit of cooperation.

This year also marks the inauguration of the Annual Kwanzaa Awards, honoring individuals whose work reflects the values of the Nguzo Saba, including Chuck Ambers, founder of the African Museum Casa del Rey Moro, Maria Lane, San Diego’s First Samba Instructor, Johnnierenee Nia Nelson, WorldBeat Center’s Poet Laurette. Dennis Newsome, Capoeira Angola Mestre, Starla Lewis, Global Teacher of Self-Love and Prince Habib, President of African American Writers & Artists.

Community Market - Martin Luther King Day
2026-01-19 11:00 - 16:00
Come & Support our Local Artisans by look & buy their Handmade works of art, organic produce, music, food, massage, tarot, and more!

37th Annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration
2026-01-19 12:00 - 18:00
WorldBeat Cultural Center presents
The 37th Annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration
CELEBRATING UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY
Martin Luther King Jr is one of the most respected African-American leaders in history, this celebration is to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Even today his messages keep being relevant in the United States of America and all around the world.
Worldbeat Cultural Center, located in Balboa Park, is celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr with a family event with live music, guest speaker, vendors, and more.

MORE DETAILS TBA

Attune to Venus: Astrology, Art, Sound, and Crystal Medicine
2026-02-07 16:00 - 19:00
Join Lisette and Najah for an immersive evening of embodied astrology at the WorldBeat Cultural Center. Through a blend of experiential art, sound healing, and crystal medicine, this workshop is designed to attune you to the energy of Venus—the planet of beauty, love, connection, and abundance.

This experience supports participants in deepening their connection to themselves through mindful, creative, and somatic practices. You will be guided back to the simple pleasures of life and into the essence of love and beauty, allowing those qualities to resonate outward into your relationships and daily experiences. Attendees will leave with a renewed sense of self and practical ways to cultivate greater connection with others.

Date: Saturday, February 7
Time: 4pm–7pm
Location: WorldBeat Cultural Center
Tickets: $55 solo | $99 bring a friend (two tickets)

What to Bring:
Journal, pen, yoga mat, eye mask, water bottle, and an open heart.

Black Comix Day 2026
2026-02-14 10:00 - 18:00, 2026-02-15 10:00 - 18:00
Feb 14th and Feb 15th
10am-6pm

Black Comix Day is a FREE 2 day event highlighting creators of African Descent in the arts of Comic Books, Animation & Film.

BCD 2026 is FREE ADMISSION to all. Parking is FREE (Located directly across the street.) Food is available inside the Worldbeat Center and within 2 blocks of the location. Activites for children such as gaming will be accessible as well. The main floor will feature various Black Creators in Comics, Fine Arts and Animation.

45th Tribute to the Reggae Legends/ Bob Day
2026-02-20, 2026-02-21
Join us for the 45th Annual Tribute to the Reggae Legends in San Diego, CA. The 2026 event will span two days.
Tribute to the Reggae Legends, also known as Bob Marley Day honors the rich legacy of reggae music. Founded by Prophet World Beat Productions in honor of Bob Marley’s legacy, the event began as a small gathering and eventually grew to fill the San Diego Sports Arena, thanks to a partnership with Moss Jacobs.
Reggae has always held a special place at the WorldBeat Center. Its director, Makeda Dread Cheatom, hosted Reggae Makossa on 91X FM for 25 years alongside her partner DJ Damaja Le. Together, they organized many club nights, boat cruises, and the annual Bob Marley Day festival in San Diego. As reggae legends began to pass on, the event was renamed Tribute to the Reggae Legends.
After 25 years at the San Diego Sports Arena, the festival moved to the Broadway Pier in downtown San Diego. Later, it returned to its roots at the WorldBeat Cultural Center with the Exodus festival.
Reggae music carries a powerful message of unity, peace, and awareness of social inequities. The WorldBeat Center remains dedicated to preserving the legacy and message of reggae legends like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.
2026 LINEUP TBA

Birds, Culture, and the Freedom of Belonging: A Celebration with Makeda & Marilú
2026-02-26 17:30 - 20:00
San Diego Bird Festival 2026 Keynote:

For over 13 years, Makeda Cheatom of the WorldBeat Center and Marilú of Celebrate Urban Birds have walked a shared path—one where birds, culture, history, and science come together in joyful connection. What began as a citizen science project has grown into a community-led celebration of belonging, where people of all backgrounds come together to explore nature, share knowledge, and engage with science in meaningful ways.
We’ve learned that birding can be so much more than counting birds. It’s a chance to slow down, be present, listen deeply, and connect with the wisdom of our ancestors, the communities around us, and with ourselves. By bridging communities and scientific institutions, we create spaces where people can actively participate in, contribute to, and use science—while celebrating culture, heritage, and identity.
From the Harriet Tubman Freedom Bird Walks during Juneteenth to cross-cultural collaborations in Baja, our work shows what’s possible when music, art, science, gardening, and community come together with curiosity, care, and purpose. Join us as we share how this journey has transformed the way we bird, connect with each other, and experience the freedom of belonging.

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