Friday, January 9, 2015 5:00 to 7:00 pm
Andre Sisco
Charles Sumner Post#25 GAR
Andre Sisco, native of Kent County and product of the soulful upbringing of the waterman’s culture, delivers a blend of blues, soul and gospel that is an embodiment of the rich culture of our area.  His renditions of popular artists (Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Bobby Womack) are unique to his personality and character and bring audiences to remembrances of less complicated times.

Friday, January 16, 2015 5:00 pm
Kevin Harris Art Show
Charles Sumner Post#25 GAR
The GAR will be featuring the artwork of from January 16th through the month of February.  Harris, a native of Kent County, studied commercial art in high school, and graphic layout at the Digital Arts Institute in Baltimore.  He has been painting on and off for over thirty years.  His rebirth as an artist occurred three years ago, and since then has focused on abstract work representing African American culture with an emphasis on spirituality and experience in the community today.  His highly original work is painted on glass, from behind with acrylics and other mediums.

Saturday, January 17, 2015 5:00 pm
Lift Up Our Voices in Song
Prince Theatre at the Garfield Center
4th Annual Commemoration Concert for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. features music, poetry, dance and spoken word. Admission is free, but donations will go to the charities supported by the MLK Breakfast Event.

Monday, January 19, 2015 7:00 am
Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast Celebration
Rock Hall Fire Hall

Monday, January 19, 2015  11:30 am to 5:00 pm
First Annual King Day Film Festival
Charles Sumner Post#25 GAR
The festival begins at 11:30 a.m. with The Boy King, a one hour made-for-television film that portrays the childhood and teen years of Dr. King’s life. Especially selected for young audiences, this Peabody-award-winning film humanizes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a telling yet entertaining fashion.

At 1 p.m. The Olando Bagwell documentary Citizen King will be screened. This two hour film places the legend in a balanced historical context and reveals aspects of the man behind the dream.

At 3:30 p.m. the festival will screen the classic, Nothing But A Man, starring Ivan Dixon and Abbey Lincoln. A proud black man and his school-teacher wife face discriminatory challenges in 1960s America. This film is about one and half hours. The film festival will wrap-up around 5 p.m.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015
American Spiritual Ensemble in concert
Decker Theatre Washington College
Vocal workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 5:00 pm Bethel AME Church

The Charles Sumner Post #25, Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) established in Chestertown, Maryland in 1882, will reopen as an educational center, museum and performance space on Saturday, June 21, 2014 with a daylong celebration featuring music, food, games, re-enactors and a speech.

The newly restored building is one of only two such posts to remain standing in the United States today. The building was erected by U.S. Colored Troops (USCT) Veterans that returned or settled in Kent County at the end of the Civil War. The building was erected in 1909 and for well over half a century served as a community center for Kent County’s African American residents; hosting lectures and social events, and attracting an array of nationally acclaimed entertainers including Ella Fitzgerald and The Sweet Hearts of Rhythm, while providing area residents with a site for developing actions for the betterment of race relations in Kent County, Maryland.

A schedule of events follows:

Saturday, June 21, 2014

9:00am – Buffalo Soldiers hold their quarterly meeting in the Building

9:30am – Buffalo Soldiers ride

10:00am – Festival Opens with children’s games and May Pole

Music Under the Tent

10:20am – Sensational Stars

10:40am – Souls of Faith

11:00am – Burke Family Singers

11:20am – Frederick Douglas – reenactor Maryland Humanities Council’s Bill Grimmett

11:40am – Mass. 54th reenactors

12:00 pm noon – Ceremonial Wreath Laying for USCT (Colored Troops)
Led by Mass 54th soldiers, and the Kent County Middle School drum corps, followed by the festival attendees March to the Memorial Park on High Street in front of the Court House. A prayer by Rev. Clarence Hawkins.

Music Under the Tent

1:00pm – The New Gospelites

1:20pm – Peter Heck & Mary Simmons

1:40pm – God’s Wealth with Sunny Fassett

2:00pm – Pam Ortiz Band

2:20pm – Pilgrim Travelers

3:00pm – Tribute to the elders of our community

3:15pm – Poetry by Robert Earl Price and introduction of speaker

3:25pm – Dr. Clara Small, Keynote speech

4:00pm – Ribbon Cutting at Charles Sumner Post, plus Star Spangled Banner

Music Under the Tent

5:00pm – The Vaughn Bratcher Project

6:00pm – 100 Voice Choir