'African Child' Day Honors Past, Future

A daylong celebration to honor the African Child — past, present and future — will include drumming and marimba playing, an African market and storytelling.

The celebration will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 17, in the World Forestry Center. The Rose Festival sanctioned event is sponsored by the Harambee Centre and the World Forestry Center.

Entertainment and educational activities will be available for families and children. Chata Addy African drumming and marimba workshops will be in the outdoor plaza. An outside African Market will feature food by theHorn of Africa Restaurant, African products for sale and information from nonprofitorganizations involved in African development projects.

Inside the Discovery Museum, storytellers will recall African tales, and the Harambee Centre will present "Africa is Not a Country." The Makonde tribe of East Africa plans to display 50 hand-carved ebony sculptures.

Children can participate in a "Passport to Africa" activity and African craft-making.

The celebration is meant to promote community awareness about the plight of the African child, who often is the first victim of Africa's calamities, including HIV/AIDS, civil war, armed conflict, draught, famine and poverty. The gathering will bring attention to what can be done to improve the welfare of children in Africa, who make up between 50 percent and 60 percent of the population.

Admission to the celebration in the outdoor plaza is free to the public. Admission to the Discovery Museum is free for children under 18, $7 for adults and $6 for seniors, age 62 and over.

The World Forestry Center is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The center is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus No. 63. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.