Sankofa Vision Presents The First Annual

Sankofa Vision, Inc.

1655 Tulane, Shreveport, LA 71103

Sankofa Gardens Supporters & Collaborating Groups

A Better Shreveport Achievement Through Art American Community Gardening Association (31st Annual Conference) Ashe Cultural Arts Center Black Arts Coalition Brookshires (2012 Earth Day Fest) Caddo Heights Elementary School Caddo Magnet High School, Green Club Centenary College, Department of Education Centenary College, Service Learning/Community Program Center For Whole Thinking (Whole Thinking Retreat) Community Renewal International (2010 Community Garden Tour) Dadees Produce Destiny One Ministries Green For All Green Logistics Hollyhock (2005 Learning Centre Workshop) Inter City Row Jackson Farms Keecha Harris & Associates Lakeshore Elementary School, 4H Club Linwood Village Merchants LSU Ag Center Louisiana Tech University, School of Architecture Mahogany Ensemble Theatre Metropolitan Circles, LLC (2009 Sankofa Saturday School) Mohammed Study Group Multicultural Center of the South New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church Nubian Cultural Outreach Center NWLA Presbyterian Churches V.B.S. Pamoja Art Society Playaz and Playettes, Inc. Presbyterian College Student Mission Group Philadelphia Center Reach For The Stars Red River Coalition of Community Gardens Root Sky Creative Sankofa Saturday School Scholars & Families Sankofa Vision Board Sankofa Vision Mothers Council Sankofa Vision Team & Volunteers School of Greatness Shreve Memorial Library Shreveport Blog Shreveport Farmers Market Shreveport Green Shreveport Sun Shreveport Regional Arts Council Shreveport Times Sisters Network Shreveport Southern SAWG, Community Food Systems Training Student Humanitarian International Project Sunshine Health Foods (2012 Earth Day Fest) Superior Counseling, LLC TedX Red River Youree Drive Middle School, National Honor Society

October 18-21, 2012

S H R E V E P O R T L O U I S I A N A

Farming For Our Future

www.homecomingsankofagardens.com

Printed courtesy of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau www.shreveport-bossier.org

Celebrating the 8th Anniversary of Sankofa Gardens Creative Community & Fresh Food Oasis

at Sankofa Gardens?
Homecoming at Sankofa Gardens is a collective work retreat and celebration presented by Sankofa Vision, Inc. The inaugural event honors the 8-Year Anniversary of Sankofa Gardens: Creative Community & Fresh Food Oasis. This organic community garden and learning campus is a vibrant force of community development that serves people in Shreveport, LA and beyond. This year, Homecoming at Sankofa Gardens explores the timely and empowering purpose, Farming For Our Future. Since 2004, we at Sankofa Vision have been committed to learning and teaching people how to grow healthy food, healthy families and healthy communities. During these best and worst of times, growing food is a powerful endeavor for well being, strengthening families, teaching children, conserving natural resources, creating jobs and abundance! Sankofa Vision proudly welcomes Markese Bryant to northwest Louisiana as our Homecoming Special Guest. Bryant is an environmental leader and performing artist based at Green For All and Fight For Light. Markese W. Bryant is nationally recognized for cultivating college leaders who advocate for clean energy, green jobs, energy efficiency and urban agriculture. Recently, Bryant and his colleague, John Jordan, were awarded the prestigious, highly competitive 2012 Black Male Achievement Fellowship from Echoing Green. Furthermore, the Sankofa Vision team is proud to engage outstanding community partners and creative artists to offer inspired learning experiences and festive events. Homecoming at Sankofa Gardens will deepen your connection to the land, community and the Green Economy. Expect to gain knowledge, skills and insight that you can immediately use and enhance your life.

What is Homecoming
Art

Special Thanks to Our Event Sponsors & Partners

SM

Celebrate the beauty of creative traditions from the African Diaspora. Share your story in the circle. Take time to enjoy the beauty of nature and feel your rhythm.

Culture

Travel and Lodging Info

Plan your travel to Homecoming at Sankofa Gardens: Find travel information at the official event website. You can get to Shreveport, Louisiana directly by airplane, Greyhound bus, and car. www.homecomingsankofagardens.com Contact the host hotel for lodging: Sleep Inn & Suites Medical Center, 3215 Samford Ave., Shreveport, LA 71103 Driving Directions to Sankofa Gardens 1651 Tulane, Shreveport, LA 71103 Phone: (318) 230-2892 Tulane crosses Linwood Ave., between Midway Street and Kings Highway. Look for the Sankofa Gardens sign.

Savor Louisiana cuisine and hospitality. Discover environmental wisdom thats been passed down for generations. Envision a Green future for the sake of the youth.

Community
Learn best practices and smart solutions for raising healthy food. Find support for your family and community garden. Help to build the Sankofa Urban Farm, while creating healthy and safe places for people to live, learn and grow.

Get Here

Event Schedule
THU, OCT 18
Green Circles NWLA Campus Tour Featuring Markese Bryant In Partnership with Green For All & Fight For Light
Markese Bryant, Green thought leader & Hip Hop artist reaches Centenary College of Louisiana and Southern University Shreveport Louisiana (SUSLA) with his empowering, timely message. The days of arguing about making money vs. helping people are coming to an end. College students are inspired and must be prepared to build and own socially responsible businesses that work for the betterment of their communities and the planet. No Cost | For Campus Partners & By Invitation

Story
The Sankofa Gardens
Sankofa Gardens was born from the desire and efforts of a faithful few people who are committed to serving and building community. The original visionaries are historic pioneers of Shreveports Linwood Village (including Pamoja Art Society and Nubian Cultural Outreach Center), cultural arts worker Leia Lewis, and concerned citizens including artists, educators, professionals, laborers and children. Through an ongoing and reflective process of collective work and engagement with residents of Ingleside neighborhood, the faithful few agreed to start a community garden. Leia Lewis passionately took up the cause with heart and soul, first testing the idea by growing a small family garden with her son and parents. The success of that small plot of cucumbers and lettuce opened the way for Sankofa Vision, Inc. to clear land, transforming an overgrown neglected lot into a special community garden.

THU, OCT 18
7:30 to 8:00 pm VIP Reception 8:00 to 10:00 pm Kick-Off Party

Homecoming Kick-Off Event artspace, 710 Texas Street, 71101

Its time to Go Green! This is a PARTY FOR A PURPOSE showcasing Shreveports creative and conscious artists performing live music and spoken word poetry. Homecoming Special Guest Markese Bryant (Hip Hop artist and You Tube sensation) will rock the mic with his song, The Dream Reborn. Get your advance ticket to the VIP Reception and connect with area Movers & Shakers. VIP Reception & Party: $12 in advance | Kick-Off Party Only: $8 | College Student with ID: $5

FRI, OCT 19

From sincere and small beginnings, Sankofa Gardens has grown into a Creative Community & Fresh Food Oasis. This lush, multiacre campus attracts neighborhood families and people all over to learn about growing organic food, celebrate the change of seasons, and enjoy a safe haven for children to learn, play and explore nature. The fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs harvested at Sankofa Gardens are shared by volunteers, gifted to seniors, and sold at The Neighborhood Market at Sankofa Gardens. Exciting plans are underway to develop the Sankofa Urban Farm and Sankofa Community School, which will expand organizational programs in urban agriculture, green jobs training, youth and family development, and eco-cultural tourism. Over the years, nearly 5,000 people from Caddo Parish and the USA have had a positive Sankofa Gardens experience whether by visiting the campus, participating in strategic partnership and educational outreach, and connecting through Sankofa Visions extensive networks. These supporters, collaborating groups, and volunteers are diverse and much appreciated. Good people are at the heart of Sankofa Gardens.

Green Circles Networking Luncheon With Markese Bryant

Pamoja Cultural Arts Center (3806 Linwood Ave.) 11:30 am to 12:00 Noon Networking 12:00 to 1:00 pm Lunch Program 1:00 to 1:30 pm Sankofa Gardens Urban Ag Tour
There are challenges and opportunities in building a Green Economy. Markese Bryant will share his transformative story from street life in Oakland, CA to his present leadership in the Green Movement. Better understand what the Green sector can offer you through employment, entrepreneurship, and community building. Sankofa Vision will present its Green Circles urban agriculture demonstration model. Lunch will be served. $18 in advance | $20 at the door

Sankofa Vision
Founded in 2004, Sankofa Vision, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that celebrates and cultivates the art, culture and community life of people of African descent. Our name Sankofa is derived from a West African proverb that reminds people to use lessons of the past to build the future. Sankofa Vision welcomes and attracts people of all backgrounds who desire to build a better world. Founding Director, (318) 230-2892; leia@sankofavision.org.

FRI, OCT 19

So Fresh & So Green Youth Leadership Experience!

Sankofa Gardens, 1651 Tulane Avenue, 71103 5:30 to 6:00 Check-In at Pamoja CAC (3806 Linwood Ave.) 6:00 to 8:00 pm Youth Program (Grade 6th - 12th)

This high-energy session will inspire youth and educators to activate a FRESH & GREEN mind-set in the classroom, neighborhood, and at home. Youth also will discover outdoor fun. Light meal will be served. $5 in advance

Please help sustain Sankofa Vision by supporting the Imani (Faith) Campaign. Become a Seed Member today. Contact Leia Lewis,

SAT, OCT 20
Hands On The Land
Sankofa Gardens, 1651 Tulane Avenue, 71103 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
Roll up your sleeves and work on fall gardening projects at Sankofa Gardens and the rising Sankofa Urban Farm. Youll gain useful tips about growing fresh food that you can take home, too! Community service groups and individual volunteers of all ages are welcome. Many hands make light work! Wear work clothes and shoes. Light lunch will be served. No Cost

What is Good
about Going Green?
What is the Green Economy Movement?
The Green Economy Movement brings together people to focus on solutions, social entrepreneurship, creative tactics and enterprises that bring Green practices and sustainable resources into a normal routine of people all over the world. The Green Economy Movement embraces social, environmental, and economic justice for all people. Ultimately, it aims to keep the planet healthy now and for future generations (varied references). Sankofa Vision defines Green as a way of life that values and develops 1) holistic health and well being; 2) healthy and safe neighborhoods and natural environments; and 3) economic prosperity through socially responsible enterprise. To Go Green is to think, act, and co-exist with respectful awareness that all things are connected.

SUN, OCT 21

What are Green Jobs?

Homecoming Meet & Greet Celebration

Sankofa Gardens, 1651 Tulane Avenue, 71103 2:00 to 5:00 pm
You make the difference! This festive program brings together old and new friends to celebrate the 8th Anniversary of Sankofa Gardens. Youll enjoy presentations of art and culture plus a FARM FRESH MEAL made possible by local growers, restaurants and culinary artists. Are you a Sankofa Gardens supporter or volunteer? Interested to get involved? Then, come on home! $8 in advance

Green-collar jobs are well-paid, career track jobs that provide family-supporting wages and contribute directly to protecting or enhancing our air, water, and planet (www.greenforall.org). Many of the jobs of the Green Economy build upon existing skills sets, for example: Architect, Builder/Contractor, Bicycle Technician, Biologist, Career Consultant, Creative Artist, Educator, Energy Manager, Fashion Designer, Green Travel and Hospitality, Urban Gardener/ Farmer, Organic Grower, Natural Foods and Health Specialist, Solar Technician, Sustainability Specialist and Waste Manager.

Get Tickets

Purchase On-Line or In-Person Scholarships Available Volunteers Welcome

(318) 230-2892 www.homecomingsankofagardens.com