Bring the entire family, best for ages 4-11. Drop in any time, 10am-5pm, and stay as long as you like!

Activities to include:

Ethiopian Spices and Berbere Making: Observe, touch, and smell spices common to Ethiopian cuisine. Then use a mortar and pestle to create your own Berbere spice mix to take home.

Coffee Experience: Coffee production is an important and long-standing tradition in Ethiopia. Help roast green coffee beans and use a mortar and pestle to grind coffee. Use clay to shape your own Ethiopian-style ceremonial cup.

Musical traditions: Experience the music of Ethiopia via ArifZefen, a multi-channel music streaming app created by a local Ethiopian developer.

Clothing: Traditional Ethiopian clothing is known for its beautiful, colorful embroidery. Examine samples of Ethiopian embroidery and learn to sew some of the stitches. Then work together on communal embroidery pieces inspired by traditional patterns. Also try on traditional clothing and take photos against Ethiopian backgrounds using green screen technology.

Weaving: Beautiful, multicolored “mesobs” and other baskets are commonly found throughout Ethiopia, used for storing food and other items. Learn about the weaving process as you create a small woven pendant of your own to take home.

Writing: Learn how to spell and write your name in Ge’ez and create a cardstock bookmark with your name on it. Ge’ez is an ancient Ethiopic church script related to the modern Amharic language used today.

Also featuring:

Delicious Ethiopian food treats for purchase, courtesy of Bete Ethiopian Cuisine and Cafe, based in Silver Spring. 

Coffee Ceremony: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Student dance performances by Ethiopian Community Center DC, schedule to be announced.