We wanted to let you know of a few changes coming to our organization.  As of September 2012, we will be restructuring our programming and office/studio to respond to the changing times, both social and economic.

Beginning in September, we will focus our programming on youth and children only, offering weekly sessions of ROOTS classes for ages 9-12, as well as Baobab Youth Performers, our performance-based program for youth ages 12-18. We will also be adjusting our Studio space at St George’s to part-time use only, and reducing the administrative duties that go with those changes.

The 2012-13 season will be Baobab’s 18^th, and we will continue to celebrate and share the amazing arts of Ghana, West Africa with the Ottawa community and beyond, as we have done since our inception in 1995.  We have enjoyed working with adults for many years and will miss this part of our programming, and the interesting and dedicated people we have met along the way!  We see this restructuring as a necessary change towards keeping our organization as healthy, vibrant and debt free as it currently is, something that would not be possible if we were to remain the same.  A special thanks to our Baobab Board of Directors, under the leadership of Chair, Ian Brown, for their hard work surrounding this major shift.

We are also grateful to the City of Ottawa and St George’s Parish for their continuing support and flexibility through this transition. We are planning a social gathering in our Studio on Monday June 4, at 8:30pm (following the dance and drum classes that finish that evening) for any adults who have participated at any time in our classes and workshops.  All are welcome!

Our website and email contact will remain the same.  Our new phone number as of June 7 will be (613)791-6994. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Participants in the recent Teacher Workshop with Kathy Armstrong

On Sunday, many of the Baobab Community and family and friends gathered at the new ClockTower Brew Pub in Westboro for our second annual Quiz night Fundraiser. Let’s just say,  its amazing the things we do know, and amazing the things we don’t! 80 people participated in teams of various sizes, responding to the variety of questions put forth by Quiz Master Paul Paquet (Cornerstone Word Company). Teams with the highest and lowest score received prizes….thanks to all who donated those:  20Q, Collected Works, Nadine Powers, Arlene Armstrong. Evie Gray.

Special thanks also to Claire Thompson, Michael Wilson and Hayley de Bie for their organizing efforts. The event raised more than $1400 for Baobab’s activities!

Julia Walmsley leads the Thursday night adult drum class

Rory Magill leads the Dagbamba drumming at our recent "Try This!" workshop

Dominic Donkor, in town for some MASC performances, spends some time with my Carleton U Music students

Baobab Youth give a performance at the OSU Childrens Library Fund fundraiser, where many of their terrific books were for sale.

Baobab with OCLF founder Kathy Knowles. We were able to visit and perform with students from the Nima Library and Kathy Knowles Theatre Troupe in Accra during our trip to Ghana last summer.

At the invitation of Nepean High School music teacher, Lee Carter, Baobab Youth performed at two assemblies for Black History Month, highlighting current cultural practices in Ghana. I went in twice to work with Mr. Carter’s vocal students to teach them some songs and dance moves for Gahu, and then at the assemblies, about 100 of them surrounded an audience of peers to create a traditional Ewe Gahu with us.  Other parts of the assembly included a slide show from our trip as we played a couple of other pieces,  as well as some reflections from other Nepean students who went to Ghana last year as part of their social justice club. We also had the pleasure of having former Baobab Youth member Patrick Hoffman sit in with us for Gahu…he is about to graduate from Nepean and it was wonderful to have him play with us again. It was a great collaborative morning all round! See for yourself….thanks to our multi-talented manager Hayley de Bie for the photos!

Also this month, I had an interesting request from a music teacher in Arnprior who conducts a wonderful high school jazz choir called Red Velvet. They wanted some authentic choreography to go with their singing version of Waka Waka , made famous by Shakira during the World Cup in South Africa. The melody is originally from Cameroon and has a very interesting history. Hayley and I went out for an early morning rehearsal with these talented students and I taught them some Kpanlogo moves to go with their wonderful singing, The only challenge was to make sure they could do them while holding a mic in one hand!

And, finally, just this afternoon Baobab Youth performed at a benefit for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). This is an event called “Echoes of Winter” put on by the Kanata Music Academy, and all of their students. A lovely afternoon event at Carleton’s Kailash Mitel Hall, the program featured everything from solo singing, to piano, dance groups,  acrobat-skippers and us! Congrats to Peter who played lead drum for Gota for the first time,  something he has worked on for a few months. We were presented with a gift and a plaque for our participation. A busy but rewarding month!

Grannies at the Green Door On Monday, February 6^th a fundraising Dinner in aid of the Stephen Lewis Foundation was held at The Green Door Restaurant.  The Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign seeks to build solidarity, raise awareness and garner support for Africa’s grandmothers.  The Green Door Dinner was organized by 3 local Grandmothers Campaign groups: Ammas for Grammas, Capital Grannies, and Grammas to Ambuyas.  African grannies want their grandchildren to be healthy, and to have an education and a future with meaningful work – the same things Canadian grannies want for their grandchildren.  The SLF Grandmothers Campaign contributes to over 300 projects helping African grandmothers and the children in their care with much needed support such as food, medicine, housing grants, school fees and uniforms, and grief counseling.

Jewel 98.5 Radio sponsored the fundraiser and provided strong support – lots of publicity, donations for door prizes and the Silent Auction, as well as Brother Bob from the Jewel’s morning show who was our wonderful MC.  The Capital Grannies Drummers performed, briefly, several times during the evening.  Their final piece was ‘Gahu for Grannies’ (Gahu appropriately means a celebration to bring riches) which emphasized the significant themes of our Campaign: Canadian ‘Grannies’ working with African ‘Gogos’ to ease the pain of AIDS and turn the tide of the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

Having the event sponsored by The Green Door Restaurant, known for its relaxing environment and excellent food, ensured that the evening would be a success. And it was: all the tickets were sold, people ate well, and had a very enjoyable evening.  But the real success was that over $8,000 was raised for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which will make a substantial difference to many of the African grandmothers and the orphans in their care.

Rosemary Carter, Capital Grannies

Here is some feedback from recent participants…

We know that there are many wonderful and deserving charitable causes out there to support.  We also know that the current economic times make it necessary for all of us to make careful choices.  Almost every sector of our society is facing financial challenges, and Baobab is no exception.  We hope to continue to offer the excellent and unique arts education programming that we are known for.  With the help of our donors, we had an enriching year last year, making a positive difference in many people’s lives.  If you wish to support our efforts through a tax-deductible financial contribution, we would be very grateful.

This season, donors who contribute $50 or more between Feb 1 and March 30 will be entered into a draw to receive a private workshop in dance OR drumming in your home for up to 8 people, taught by Kathy Armstrong.

Baobab is a registered charity with Revenue Canada 86158 7095 RR0001, tax receipts will be issued promptly.

To make a donation:

• Call us in the office (613)725-6994 for credit cards
• Make an online donation through the Canada Helps button on our website

Baobab sincerely thanks you for your generosity during this challenging time for us.

Ian Brown

Chair, Baobab Board of Directors

A few recollections from us at Baobab Community:

Emmanuel and his wife  Stella came to a Baobab Tree drum and dance concert about 8 or 9 years ago. I remember clearly Emmanuel introducing themselves to us, and enthusiastically expressing admiration for our efforts in Ghanaian culture.  From that moment on, Emmanuel and Stella became two of our greatest supporters, coming to all of our events dressed in beautiful Ghanaian dress and spreading the word about our activities.

Soon after, Emmanuel joined our Board of Directors, where he served for three years, from 2005-2008. Board meetings were never dull with Emmanuel around, with a twinkle in his eye and a hearty laugh, which was infectious and made us all giggle! A highlight during that time was the Ghanaian fashion show that Stella and Emmanuel staged at one of our annual fundraisers. Everyone was very excited about showcasing all the beautiful outfits and one of the most attractive models was of course, Stella.

Emmanuel was very generous in giving back to his community but you could tell he was especially proud of his Ghanaian heritage.  Emmanuel helped us in planning for our youth performers visit to Ghana in 2006, even offering up some accommodation if we could possibly make it to his hometown of Hohoe.  The long trek was not possible during the short stay we were in Ghana but I do hope to visit that area on another trip someday. I am sure his relatives are just as open and friendly as he was.

Emmanuel said to me once that he was sorry he did not hear about us sooner, when his children were younger as he would have liked to have them participate in the drumming and dancing. As it turned out, he was able to tell his god-daughter Angelina Gagbenon about us, and she joined our youth performers shortly after that. Angie and her family were strong supporters of our program as well, and Angie was a natural leader in dance and drumming, and came to Ghana with us on our most recent trip, last summer.

Everyone at Baobab Community remembers Emmanuel with fondness (pictured, centre, below with other board members in June 2007).  He will be missed but has left a legacy of joy and connection for us all.

Hayley and I wish you the best for a restful holiday and an amazing 2012. Thanks for all your support this year and we look forward to seeing you in the new year!

Please note the Baobab Office will be closed as of Dec 21st and will re-open Monday January 9th.