WorldBeat Center Official Website

45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration: December 26th, Umoja
2025-12-26 18:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | WorldBeat Center, 2100 Park Blvd, San Diego, 92101, United States
45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration
“Health, Reciprocity, and Community”
WorldBeat Cultural Center will be celebrating its 45th Annual Celebration with 4 of the 7 days of Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is an African American Holiday celebrated from the 26th of December to the 1st of January. The annual Kwanzaa holiday was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga to celebrate and reaffirm family, community, and culture.
Kwanzaa was a celebration that was established as a means to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage by uniting in meditation and study of African traditions and Nguzu Saba, the “seven principles of African Heritage” which Karenga said “is a communitarian African philosophy”.

Each night will feature Special guest speakers or performers, Ceremonial candle lighting and libation with drumming, poetry readings by Johnnierenee Nia Nelson, and Karamu (the traditional feast and family get down).

Day 1: Friday, December 26th – Umoja, Unity
Keynote TBA

45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration: December 27th, Kujichagulia
2025-12-27 18:00 - 21:00
45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration
Day 2: Saturday, December 27th: Kujichagulia- Self-Determination

WorldBeat Cultural Center will be celebrating its 45th Annual Celebration with 4 of the 7 days of Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is an African American Holiday celebrated from the 26th of December to the 1st of January. The annual Kwanzaa holiday was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga to celebrate and reaffirm family, community, and culture.
Kwanzaa was a celebration that was established as a means to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage by uniting in meditation and study of African traditions and Nguzu Saba, the “seven principles of African Heritage” which Karenga said “is a communitarian African philosophy”.

Each night will feature Special guest speakers or performers, Ceremonial candle lighting and libation with drumming, poetry readings by Johnnierenee Nia Nelson, and Karamu (the traditional feast and family get down).
Book Summary
Harriet Tubman’s legendary life is widely known: escaping enslavement, leading others to freedom via the Underground Railroad, and tirelessly fighting for change. But a crucial chapter often overlooked is her daring Civil War service as a spy for the US Army, detailed in Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black’s groundbreaking book, COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War, which won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History and the 2025 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize. A direct descendant of a soldier who fought in the raid, Fields-Black unveils Tubman’s command of spies, scouts, and pilots and intelligence gathering among freedom seekers, which led to a raid that liberated 756 enslaved people from bondage on seven rice plantations. It was the largest slave rebellion in US history. Through unexamined documents, she brings to life the Combahee River Raid and the untold stories of those freed, their resilience, and the lasting impact of Tubman’s heroism.
About Edda Fields Black
Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black is a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian at Carnegie Mellon University and Director of the Dietrich College Humanities Center, known for her groundbreaking research on West African rice farmers, the Gullah Geechee diaspora, and overlooked chapters of African American history. A consultant for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and the librettist of the acclaimed contemporary classical work Requiem for Rice, Fields-Black descends from both Africans enslaved on South Carolina rice plantations and a USCT soldier who fought in the Combahee River Raid. Her award-winning book COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War illuminates Tubman’s role as a military strategist and intelligence leader, drawing from previously unexamined documents to reveal the raid that freed 756 enslaved people—now recognized as the largest slave rebellion in U.S. history.

45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration: December 28th, Ujima
2025-12-28 18:00 - 21:00
45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration

WorldBeat Cultural Center will be celebrating its 45th Annual Celebration with 4 of the 7 days of Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is an African American Holiday celebrated from the 26th of December to the 1st of January. The annual Kwanzaa holiday was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga to celebrate and reaffirm family, community, and culture.
Kwanzaa was a celebration that was established as a means to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage by uniting in meditation and study of African traditions and Nguzu Saba, the “seven principles of African Heritage” which Karenga said “is a communitarian African philosophy”.

Each night will feature Special guest speakers or performers, Ceremonial candle lighting and libation with drumming, poetry readings by Johnnierenee Nia Nelson, and Karamu (the traditional feast and family get down).
Keynote TBA
Day 3: Sunday, December 28th: Ujima, Collective Work & Responsibility

45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration: December 29th, Ujamaa
2025-12-29 18:00 - 21:00
45th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration

WorldBeat Cultural Center will be celebrating its 45th Annual Celebration with 4 of the 7 days of Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is an African American Holiday celebrated from the 26th of December to the 1st of January. The annual Kwanzaa holiday was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga to celebrate and reaffirm family, community, and culture.
Kwanzaa was a celebration that was established as a means to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage by uniting in meditation and study of African traditions and Nguzu Saba, the “seven principles of African Heritage” which Karenga said “is a communitarian African philosophy”.

Each night will feature Special guest speakers or performers, Ceremonial candle lighting and libation with drumming, poetry readings by Johnnierenee Nia Nelson, and Karamu (the traditional feast and family get down).
Day 4: Monday, December 29th: Ujamaa, Cooperative Economics
Keynote TBA

Seeds of Herbalism - An Introduction to the Art & Science of Herbalism
2026-01-17 10:00 - 12:30, 2026-01-24 10:00 - 12:30, 2026-01-31 10:00 - 12:30, 2026-02-07 10:00 - 12:30, 2026-02-14 10:00 - 12:30, 2026-02-21 10:00 - 12:30
Seeds of Herbalism – An Introduction to the Art & Science of Herbalism
Class begins January 17th

A 6 week introduction to the art and science of herbalism. This course is for anyone that wants to build a foundation of learning in herbalism. This class will be a strong foundation for further exploration into herbalism, plant spirit connections and medicinal plants.

Connect with yourself.
Connect with the plants.
Connect with green hearted folks.
Curriculum:

Building Connections | Plant Spirit Communication & Meditation
Traditions | How to study herbs | Vitalism | Four Directions Model of learning
Self-Study | Plant Profiles | Resources | Finding your way in the chatter
12+ Herbs | Growing & Wildcrafting & Purchasing | Experiential Learning
Energetics | Actions | Formula Theory
Recipes & Formulas | Home Herbalism by the seasons

Details: 6 Saturdays Jan 17, 24, 31, Feb 7, 14, 21
Time: 10:00am – 12:30pm
Location: World Beat Center Ethnobotany Peace Garden
Limited space sign up early!

Learn More and sign up:

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.
