Tag Archives: Word Up Community Bookshop

Word Up: Rising in the Heights with Carmen Cancél & Jainardo Batista

Saturday, June 14, 2025 – 11:00am to 12:00pm
Word Up Community Bookshop / Librería Comunitaria
2113 Amsterdam Ave. & 165th St.
New York, NY 10032

Puerto Rican musicians soprano Carmen Cancél and singer/ percussionist Jainardo Batista of “Buena Vista Social Club” join forces with Leadlights Ensemble for an unforgettable event of music and storytelling, featuring One Sweet Song by Jyoti Gapal, ill. by Sonia Sanchez. **Please note the time of this event is 11 a.m.**

Rising in the Heights is a festival of free outdoor public arts performances curated by Leadlights Ensemble in partnership with Word Up Community Bookshop. The festival celebrates the rich artistic contributions of Latinx and Black cultures and promotes children’s literacy through music and bilingual storytelling. Free copies of the featured book will be available.

This project is made possible in part with funds from UMEZ Arts Engagement, supported by the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ); and Creative Engagement, supported by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) in partnership with the City Council and the Howard Gilman Foundation. UMEZ Arts Engagement and Creative Engagement are administered by LMCC.

Rising in the Heights: Music & Storytelling with Hip Hop Artist Randy Mason

Rising in the Heights: Music & Storytelling with Hip Hop Artist Randy Mason

Date: June 27, 2025, 5-6 p.m.

Location: Word Up Community Bookshop, 2113 Amsterdam Ave.

Presenter: Leadlights Ensemble

Website: https://leadlightsensemble.weebly.com/

 

Description: Hip hop artist Randy Mason and keyboardist Jamell Ogbanna join Leadlights Ensemble for an afternoon of hip hop, rhyme, and string music, featuring “My Block Looks Like” by Janelle Harper. Free copies of the book will be available.

Rising in the Heights is a festival of free outdoor public arts performances curated by Leadlights Ensemble in partnership with Word Up Community Bookshop. The festival celebrates the rich artistic contributions of Latinx and Black cultures and promotes children’s literacy through music and bilingual storytelling. Free copies of the featured book will be available.

This project is made possible in part with funds from UMEZ Arts Engagement, supported by the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ); and Creative Engagement, supported by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) in partnership with the City Council and the Howard Gilman Foundation. UMEZ Arts Engagement and Creative Engagement are administered by LMCC.

 

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Rising in the Heights es un festival de espectáculos artísticos públicos gratuitos al aire libre, organizado por Leadlights Ensemble en colaboración con Word Up Community Bookshop. El festival celebra las valiosas contribuciones artísticas de la cultura latina y afroamericana y promueve la alfabetización infantil a través de la música y la narración bilingüe. Habrá ejemplares gratuitos del libro presentado.

Este proyecto es posible en parte gracias a fondos de UMEZ Arts Engagement, con el apoyo del Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ); y Creative Engagement, con el apoyo del Departamento de Asuntos Culturales de la Ciudad de Nueva York (DCLA), en colaboración con el Consejo de la Ciudad de Nueva York y la Fundación Howard Gilman. UMEZ Arts Engagement y Creative Engagement son administrados por LMCC.

Rising in the Heights:

Friday, June 27, 2025 – 5:00pm to 5:45pm
Word Up Community Bookshop / Librería Comunitaria
2113 Amsterdam Ave. & 165th St.
New York, NY 10032

Hip hop artist Randy Mason and keyboardist Jamell Ogbonna join Leadlights Ensemble for an afternoon of hip hop, rhyme, and string music, featuring My Block Looks Like by Janelle Harper. Free copies of the book will be available. 

Rising in the Heights is a festival of free outdoor public arts performances curated by Leadlights Ensemble in partnership with Word Up Community Bookshop. The festival celebrates the rich artistic contributions of Latinx and Black cultures and promotes children’s literacy through music and bilingual storytelling. Free copies of the featured book will be available.

This project is made possible in part with funds from UMEZ Arts Engagement, supported by the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ); and Creative Engagement, supported by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) in partnership with the City Council and the Howard Gilman Foundation. UMEZ Arts Engagement and Creative Engagement are administered by LMCC.

Word Up: Dedicated to Mike Deegan (Screening of Conversations)

Saturday, June 14, 2025 – 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Word Up Community Bookshop / Librería Comunitaria
2113 Amsterdam Ave. & 165th St.
New York, NY 10032
The event will be dedicated to Mike Deegan, a friend, a painter, and a Lantern Community Services’ resident. It will include the screening of Conversations, a short film by Yael Ben-Zion, featuring Michael Deegan and Maaji Newbold, followed by a panel discussion with Veronica Liu of Word Up, and Marcus Moore, Maaji Newbold, and Yael Ben-Zion, who collaborated with Mike on the project Being There.
This event is a $5 suggested donation ticket with 30 max attendees. Please register in advance.
In compliance with Word Up Community Safety guidelines, all attendees for this event must wear a mask inside.
Word Up Community Bookshop is located at 2113 Amsterdam Ave. (& 165th St.) in Washington Heights, NYC. You can take the 1 train to 168th St and the A/C train to 163rd or 168th St.

Word Up: Story time with Walter Feshold Rodríguez

Saturday, May 10, 2025 – 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Word Up Community Bookshop
2113 Amsterdam Ave. & 165th St.
New York , NY 10032

register

Word Up welcomes visiting author Walter Feshold Rodriguez for story time! 

The author of the Magical Cemí was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and raised in the town of Trujillo Alto. He attended the Colegio San Antonio in Río Piedras for twelve years and then completed a bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) in Río Piedras. Years later, he returned to the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and completed a second bachelor’s degree in Education. Since 2004, he has worked as a history teacher, and in 2015, he moved with his wife and two of his daughters to Indiana, where he works as a Spanish teacher. His idea for the Magical Cemí arose from his concern about seeing so many Puerto Rican families moving away from the island and the negative impact this could have on Puerto Rican cultural heritage.

This event has a suggested donation of $5, with a maximum of 30 attendees. Please register in advance.

In accordance with Word Up community safety guidelines, all attendees of this event are required to wear a mask in the store.

Word Up Community Bookshop is located at 2113 Amsterdam Ave. (and 165th St.) in Washington Heights, NYC. You can take the 1 train to 168th St. and the A/C train to 163rd or 168th St.