Music is My Church
2024-06-19 12:00 - 2024-07-04 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/music-is-my-church/
MUSIC IS MY CHURCH!
Whether in major or minor modes,
Powerful healing energy always abodes.
🥷🎶♎️
MUSIC 🎶 🎶🎶 is a universal language that requires no translation. MUSIC provides energetic healing through its tones, vibrations and rhythms.
I am a social worker social therapeutics practitioner performance coach and psychotherapist.
Social therapeutics is not only my methodology, but also my life philosophy ——spiritual, transformational, alchemical. Social therapeutics, informed by philosophy, psychology and improv, it is the HOW I am able to live life living, in the solution, not the problem.
I have discovered my favorite “philosophers” are musicians. Their language is literally “honey for my soul,” as a dear friend described it.
So, my contribution to this year’s Freedom Festival is to offer musical gifts each day from Juneteenth through July 4th.
Check them out here.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/isfreedomfestival/

Art with your Cuppa
2024-06-20 10:00 - 2024-07-05 23:59 (America/Los_Angeles) | Johnny’s Java Coffee Shop, Cotati CA, 8492 Gravenstein Hwy, Cotati, CA, United States
Raquell Holmes has selected paintings, photos and drawings from the art collection of LeVell Holmes, her father, who collected engaging, eclectic art from around the world, with a focus on Black culture. The select pieces will be on display at Johnny’s Java, Cotati CA, throughout the festival.
Take your picture with one of the art pieces and post it on the Festival’s Facebook page. Or, better yet, let the pieces of art inspire a poem and post that with your picture.
Dr. LeVell Holmes would have loved this festival! He was a cultural historian who felt that the ideal history professor is one who can talk about music, science and art as well as political events. In addition to creating the Ethnic Studies program of Sonoma State University, he found friends, family and warmth in people around the world.

Inspirational Ladies!
2024-07-01 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | online
7/1/2024
Start Time 5:30 PT/8:30 ET
You’re invited to celebrate inspirational ladies in your life with us.
The inspirational lady you choose may be anyone in your life. They maybe someone you know well or even someone you just heard about for a few seconds. They are ladies–women who inspired us to be the person that the human race needs.
To recognize them, we all will make a Kudo Board here (https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/75QRMKkF).
On the Kudo Board, we will highlight the life and details of any inspirational lady in your life.
We all will come together July 1, 2024 at 5:30 pm PT/ 8:30 pm ET via Zoom (RSVP below to get the link) and will present our Inspirational Ladies that inspired us.
Post on the Kudo Board before or during our session. Take a look and you’ll see one of my Inspirational Ladies, Harriet Tubman!
https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/75QRMKkF
Start Time 5:30 PT/8:30 ET
Led by Andy Anderson Jr. is a long time volunteer and supporter of the All Stars Project. He co-leads the improvscience Uncomfortable Independent Conversations that bring people together around race and class. An architect and passionate builder of community.

Freedom, Liberation and Independence - Creative & Emotional Playground
2024-07-02 15:30 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | online
As part of the Freedom Festival, we invite you to join members of our Monthly Creative Playground for a special workshop to explore, perform and celebrate freedom and independence.
Date: July 2nd, 2024 at 3:30 pm PDT/ 6:30 pm EDT
We started the Creative Playground with a collective intent: that exploring creativity together is therapeutic. We have created a space where we foster our creativity, and develop emotionally as well as artistically. We come together on Zoom the first Thursday of every month. In the Creative Playground we use the expressive arts (theater/improv, poetry, movement, music, drawing/collage) to create improvised conversations and art together.
Join us as we creatively and emotionally explore what it means for us all to come together to celebrate freedom from slavery and our ability to collectively self-organize and recreate our world.
All people have an experience of what freedom and independence mean to them. Through this festival, we want to create OUR experience of liberation.
Register Here!

Open Forum by California Independent Voters in Conversation
2024-07-02 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/open-forum-by-california-independent-voters-in-conversation/
Imagine– a land of the free and the represented. Imagine– a respectful, curious conversation in which people who are often cast by the media as opponents, opposites, and divided listen to one another. Imagine–a political culture where questions, curiosity, wonder and the creation of new possibilities is the norm. *California independent Voters in Conversation (CiViC)* invites those who are self-identified independent or independent-minded voters to come together and discover/create the questions they feel are important to address, to learn what independents are experimenting with as we work to create a democracy that thrives with the concerns and voices of everyone.
Join us in creating a conversation that brings forward the voices of over 43% of adults, the voices of independents. We are listening to build with one another, to develop and amplify the voices of independents. Together, we seek to inform the dialogue that takes place before, during, and after elections, transforming the political culture and giving people a positive reason to vote.
*Organizers:* Catana Malinowski and James Newman are builders of the independent voter movement in California communities. California independent Voters in Conversation (CiViC) is an association of self-identified independents and independent-minded voters who seek to lift the voice of independent voters (43% of California voters) and support democracy that includes and represents all. CiViC is associated with Independent Voting.

Freedom Festival: Inspiring Conversations
2024-07-03 12:00 - 13:15 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedom-festival-inspiring-conversations/
Sixteen days of celebration and months and years of conversations have led to this day, Wednesday July 3rd. Starting at 12:00 pm PT/ 3:00pm ET
In this 75 minute conversation, we invite participants to share and discover the conversations inspired by the Freedom Festival. We are discovering new stories, relationships, challenges and possibilities. Festival participants (those in and out of sessions) are thinking about and talking with family, friends and organizations about freedom, independence and our histories. Folks are asking, “How can we be part of celebrating freedom Juneteenth to Independence Day?” “What’s the relationship of who I am and what I do to emancipation, to freedom?”
Join this heartful, intimate–have your back, excited to see you–conversation and let’s discover what we’re creating and inspiring together.

What do beer, freedom and independence have in common?
2024-07-03 18:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Parliament Brewing, 5865 Labath Ave Ste 9, Rohnert Park, CA, 94928, United States
6 pm PT. Parliament Brewing serves up great brews and an opportunity to test your knowledge of freedom and independence in history, song and facts.
This local brewery invites us to create new traditions in celebration of freedom and independence, Juneteenth to Independence Day, through the simple act of asking questions.
Join us for trivia, sodas and beers.
Start time: 6 pm

Freedom Festival Independence Day Finale
2024-07-04 10:00 - 11:15 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedom-festival-independence-day-finale/
https://freedomfestivalusa.org/wp-content/uploads/SlideShow-ReginaBell.mp4
10 am PT/ 1 pm ET Independence Day, July Fourth, we’ll host our Freedom Festival finale! In this conversational romp, we’ll dance with music, words and images through the experiences and discoveries we have made together in the festival.
Whether you’ve attended events or only recently heard about it, come with curiosity, hopes and dreams as we cheer in new relationships to Independence Day and celebrate our movement towards freedom and independence for all.
Led by Dr. Raquell Holmes with Freedom Festival Volunteer-Staff, Hosts and Attendees!
Freedom Festival Finale Slide Show 2024What we created together, a slide show review of 2024.

Freedomistas - Building together
2025-02-08 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together/
Are you excited, curious or interested in the Freedom Festival? In the Freedomistas zoom call, we playfully discover what each of us can do to create explorations of freedom and independence with neighbors and loved ones.
Join us in a fun session. Meet people around the country and the world. Discover what others are doing and see how you want to participate in the festival. Click the RSVP button to register and receive zoom details.

Freedomistas - Building Together February
2025-02-22 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together-february/
Are you excited, curious or interested in the Freedom Festival? In the Freedomistas zoom call, we playfully discover what each of us can do to create explorations of freedom and independence with neighbors and loved ones.
Join us in a fun online session. Meet people around the country and the world. Discover what others are doing with the Festival and see how you want to participate. Click here or the Register link below and receive zoom details.

Freedomistas - Building Together March
2025-03-08 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together-march/
Are you excited, curious or interested in the Freedom Festival? In the Freedomistas zoom call, we playfully discover what each of us can do to create explorations of freedom and independence with neighbors and loved ones.
Join us in a fun session. Meet people around the country and the world. Discover what others are doing and see how you want to participate in the festival. Click here or the RSVP link below to register and receive zoom details.

Freedomistas - Building Together Monthly meeting
2025-03-22 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together-monthly/2025-03-22/
Are you excited, curious or interested in the Freedom Festival? In the Freedomistas zoom call, we playfully discover what each of us can do to create explorations of freedom and independence with neighbors and loved ones.
Join us in a fun session. Meet people around the country and the world. Discover what others are doing and see how you want to participate in the festival. Click here or the registration link below to register and receive zoom details.

Freedomistas - Building Together Monthly meeting
2025-04-12 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together-monthly/2025-04-12/

Freedomistas - Building Together Monthly meeting
2025-04-26 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together-monthly-2/2025-04-26/

Freedomistas - Building Together Monthly meeting
2025-05-10 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together-monthly-2/2025-05-10/

Freedomistas - Building Together Monthly meeting
2025-05-24 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together-monthly-2/2025-05-24/

Freedomistas - Building Together Monthly meeting
2025-05-24 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together-monthly-2-2/2025-05-24/

Freedomistas - Building Together Monthly meeting
2025-05-31 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together-monthly-2/2025-05-31/

Freedomistas - Building Together Monthly meeting
2025-06-07 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freedomistas-building-together-monthly-2-2/2025-06-07/

Freedom-Makers: Maroons and the Underground Railroad
2025-06-07 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | online
This hybrid offering will be an in-person/virtual visit to the “Underground Railroad Tree” in the Guilford Woods of North Carolina. The 300-year-old Tulip Poplar tree is a living monument and witness to the freedom-seekers who were part of this eastern seaboard launching point of the Underground Railroad during the early 19th century. The great tree is located in a 350-acre forest in Greensboro, N.C. We will walk through the woods, share the history of the area, read excerpts from primary source accounts (journals and runaway ads), look at material culture and discuss the oral history of runaway enslaved people (maroons), and explore the ways in which we–people and our living world–create community and connectivity underground, overground, everywhere.
Led by historian Omar H. Ali from UNC Greensboro, the offering is part of the “Let’s Learn!: The World as Classroom” initiative of Lloyd International Honors College at UNC Greensboro and the East Side Institute in New York, in partnership with improvscience, the African American & African Diaspora Studies Program at UNC Greensboro, and the all-disciplinary honors society Phi Kappa Phi.

Art with your Cuppa in Festival '25
2025-06-19 06:00 - 2025-07-04 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Johnny’s Java Coffee Shop, Cotati CA, 8492 Gravenstein Hwy, Cotati, CA, United States
In 2023, Raquell Holmes selected paintings, photos and drawings from the art collection of Dr. LeVell Holmes, her father. The selection focused on Jubilee and black cultures. This year, we’re showcasing two Sonoma County artists associated with the Freedom Festival. Select pieces of Joanna Wheeldin and Amaya Yoshikawa will be on display at Johnny’s Java, Cotati CA, throughout the festival.
Grab a cup of coffee. Take your picture celebrating freedom and independence with these artists’ work. Let their pieces inspire a poem and bring it to our in-person Poetry by the Bay June 25 or online Freedom Dreams Open Mic July 4.
LeVell would have loved this festival! He was a cultural historian who felt that the ideal history professor is one who can talk about music, science and art as well as political events. This year’s Freedom Festival events give expression to these cultural forms and the art of coming together.
See you at Johnny’s, Roadhouse or online!
Conversation with Featured Artists: Joanna Wheeldin and Amaya Yoshikawa will be at Johnny’s Java on Saturday June 28th 10:30 am-12 pm to talk about their work and their experience of being Freedom Festival Freedomistas.

Freedom Festival: Opening Conversation
2025-06-19 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | online
You haven’t missed it. Watch on YouTube.
What does it look like to collectively reflect on our journeys to freedom and independence, Juneteenth to Independence Day?
The improvscience Freedom Festival invites people in the US and internationally to come together, to create and explore organizing for freedom and independence.
What are we celebrating with Juneteenth and Independence Day? What is freedom and independence? How have we come to celebrate Juneteenth? We celebrate Juneteenth as a federal holiday because formerly enslaved people and their descendants advocated, organized and marched for decades to have this day recognized and celebrated.
In this Freedom Festival Conversation, you will meet fellow festival attendees and presenters from around the country; and learn who and how people are sharing their stories and dreams in the Freedom Festival.
Join this open, playful and philosophical conversation led by improvscience founder Raquell Holmes and East Side Institute faculty, Jessie Fields.

Juneteenth Staged Play Reading written & directed by Enid Pickett
2025-06-19 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | New Vintage Church, 3300 Sonoma Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA, United States
A staged play reading about love. Love of Family, Faith, and Freedom. Three acts: 1865-1963-2025. A black family’s journey of struggle and survival living in the USA. Performed by the Enid Pickett Players. Experience this event in person or watch it streaming live. A second reading will occur on June 20th.
Enid Pickett Players, names only: Natalia Humphrys, Bruce Rhodes, Ryan Porter, Nancy Pritchard, Sabryyah Abdullah, ReEllis Dotson-Newman, Maya James, Zeneta Arthur-Asgill, N’Game Gray, Nadia HillWoodRowe Farguheson Jr., Christopher Bowers, Erinn Anova, Sela Kerr, Shaun Greenhaigh, Keenan Webster, Enid Pickett
Click the image or link below to watch the play!

Video of Juneteenth

Juneteenth Staged Play Reading, written & directed by Enid Pickett
2025-06-20 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | New Vintage Church, 3300 Sonoma Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA, United States
What is Juneteenth? Juneteenth is a staged reading of a new play by Enid Pickett–a play about love. Love of family, faith, and freedom. Three acts: 1865-1963-2025. A black family’s journey of struggle and survival living in the USA. Performed by the Enid Pickett Players. Click Read More to watch it streaming live. Or buy tickets at the door to attend in person at New Vintage Church, Santa Rosa, CA. $20 General admission, $10Students & Seniors
Click link to watch this amazing performance on Youtube.
Enid Pickett Players, names only: Natalia Humphrys, Bruce Rhodes, Ryan Porter, Nancy Pritchard, Sabryyah Abdullah, ReEllis Dotson-Newman, Maya James, Zeneta Arthur-Asgill, N’Game Gray, Nadia HillWoodRowe Farguheson Jr., Christopher Bowers, Erinn Anova, Sela Kerr, Shaun Greenhaigh, Keenan Webster, Enid Pickett.

Marsha Pool Party
2025-06-21 12:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | R3 Hotel, 16390 4th Street, Guerneville, Californa, 95446
Dive into a celebration of joy, resistance, and unapologetic queer freedom at MARSHA, a pool party named after the legendary Marsha P. Johnson. Inspired by her activism, resilience, and radiant spirit, this event is more than just a party—it’s a statement of pride, community, and queer liberation.
Buy your tickets to attend the pool party.
💖 What to Expect:
🏊 Poolside Pride: A space to gather, celebrate, and uplift queer voices
🎶 Live DJ: DJ Die Wies spinning all day
💃Drag Performances: Hosted by Bionka Simone
🌺 Flowers for Marsha: Wear or bring flowers to honor her iconic style
🍹 Signature Cocktails & Mocktails: Sips as bold as she was
🌈 Unapologetic Joy: Because celebrating ourselves is an act of resistance
Wear your flowers, bring your light, and let’s honor Marsha the best way we know how—TOGETHER. 💦🌸✨
From the producers of The Oz Ball, Escape to Wonderland, White Lotus and Barbie Party, THTR Productions is proud to be partnering with the r3 Hotel to produce world-class entertainment and epic pool parties all summer long.
Poolside seating is limited and is first-come-first-served.
Tickets available on Eventbrite here. $20 General admission

The Freedom We Make : Queer Artists on Sound, Struggle, and Sanctuary Spaces
2025-06-22 12:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | online
You haven’t missed it. Watch on YouTube.
How do queer artists create spaces of freedom-not just for survival, but for creative process?
Amid the federal administration’s threats to sanctuary jurisdictions, MovingGround initiated Sanctuary Spaces, an art-action network to share narratives and shed light on people’s lives directly impacted through conversation, performance, and co-creating live and experiential Sanctuary Spaces together. From Window, the Black lesbian vocalist and author of Black Lesbian Bedtime Stories, to Mister Lady Zen, an internationally acclaimed composer, cabaret artist, poet, and queer elder. Together these artists use sound, word, and community to build sanctuaries. Meanwhile, Najee Rene aka “Casino,” the Berlin-based musician and podcaster behind BABE: Black American Berlin Expat, amplifies diasporic voices across borders.
Together with Freedom Festival and the Freedomistas, Lisa Aurora Calderon, co-founder of Naming Gallery and ToMaRo Gallery invited MovingGround Artistic Director Krista DeNio to co-moderate this panel where we ask the panelists to share: How do we create Sanctuary, Safety, and Protection? How does art become a tool for peace in the face of chaos? How do we preserve sanity while fighting for liberation? And what does it mean to teach, create, and thrive when governments change abruptly?
Join us for a conversation on music, memory, and the radical act of making room for ourselves.
Incredible Panelists and Organizers!
CO-ORGANIZERS / MODERATORS:

Lisa Aurora – ToMaRoGallery.com
Krista DeNio – MovingGround

PANELISTS/ ARTISTS

Window – Vocalist, Singer Songwriter, Artist, and Author of Back Lesbian Bedtime Stories.
Najee Rene aka “Casino” – The Emperor’s Tarot and BABE Black American Berlin Expat
Mister Lady Zen- Internationally acclaimed composer, cabaret artist, poet, and queer elder. Learn more about her work here.

Registration and Fee:
$5-50 sliding scale. Get tickets below. Additional donations can be made to Venmo | MovingGround; write one word in the payment note that gives or creates in you a sense of sanctuary.
**Please note that these contributions go directly to paying the artist fees for all panel experts!

International Conversation Café: Building Community With Differences
2025-06-23 12:15 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/international-conversation-cafe-building-community-with-differences/
You haven’t missed it. Watch on YouTube.
9:15am PT | 11:15am CT | 12:15pm ET.
Hosted by students and faculty from Pace University’s International Conversation Group Program
Join us this summer for a reflective and uplifting virtual gathering where curiosity, connection, and community take center stage. Born from the success of Pace University’s International Conversation Group & Facilitator Training Program—a vibrant program uniting students from diverse fields, nationalities, and cultures—this special Conversation Café invites you to explore the power of building community with differences.
Together, we’ll explore how tools of improvisation can help us build stronger relationships, more inclusive learning environments, and resilient communities—locally and globally. Whether you feel called to speak, listen, or simply be present, this space invites you to:

Connect across cultures
Explore the art of listening and being present with each other’s voices and ideas
Create new possibilities with people from around the world

We’re honored to offer this session as part of the Freedom Festival, and we can’t wait to welcome you to the circle. No preparation needed—just bring your open heart and curious mind.
The presenters are part of Pace University’s International Conversation Group Program: Gwen Lowenheim, Rasika Choudhari, and Madhura Motale.
June 23, 2025: 9:15am PT | 11:15am CT | 12:15pm ET

Madhura Motale

Rasika Choudhari

Gwen Lowenheim

Discord and Harmony : The Struggle for Freedom in the USA Through Blues, Jazz, Soul, and Hip-Hop
2025-06-24 17:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/discord-and-harmony-the-struggle-for-freedom-in-the-usa-through-blues-jazz-soul-and-hip-hop-2/
2:00 – 4:00 pm PDT/ 4:00 – 6:00pm CDT/ 5:00pm – 7:00pm EDT. This will be a look at-and a listen to-the role African American music has played in embodying and inspiring the ongoing struggle for freedom and full equality in the U.S.A. The session will be a mix of music video clips (Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder, among others) and informal conversation led by progressive musician and composer Dan Belmont, and life-long grassroots organizer and leader Allen Cox.

Poetry by the Bay
2025-06-25 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Roadhouse, 1580 Eastshore Rd, Bodega Bay, CA, 94923-9758, United States
Let’s get together and talk about freedom and what it means to each of us, using the oft forgotten power of poetry. Bring something original or something that resonates with you and share it at our first mic-less open mic poetry reading.
In this after-hours event, light snacks are provided.

Freely Exploring Quantum
2025-06-26 15:00 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | https://freedomfestivalusa.org/event/freely-exploring-quantum/
You haven’t missed it. Watch on YouTube.
12:00pm PT / 2:00pm CT / 3:00pm ET. What can freedom look like related to the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology? Join two or three physicists to play with and wonder about quantum models of the microscopic world in this interactive workshop. No prior background or familiarity with quantum physics needed, just curiosity!

June 26, 2025: 12:00pm PT / 2:00pm CT / 3:00pm ET

Led by Dr. Carolyn Sealfon, a scientist with a background in Bayesian cosmology. She seeks to collaboratively apply beautiful and challenging mathematics to practical problems. Education integrates her longtime passions of problem-solving through science and connecting people through performing arts.

Co-Presenter, Dr. Nicholas Gross: With a Ph.D. in physics, for over 2 decades Nick has been working on science education project at all levels, including those projects for an audience new to science.

Co-Presenter, Dr. Simone Hyater-Adams: Dr. Simone Hyater-Adams is a physicist, artist, educator, and researcher with a drive for supporting Black and Brown STEM students and finding creative ways to combine her passions for both science and art. Her PER research focuses on understanding the ways physicists of color and LGBTQIA+ physicists identify with the physics community. Additionally, she runs a STEM and Arts Education consulting firm that works with universities and non-profits on research projects and educational programming at the intersection of STEM and Art.
