Arab-American Heritage Month Celebration

Penn State and State College's first-ever Arab-American Heritage Month Celebration will take place on Thursday, April 9, and Saturday, April 11, at the Woskob Family Gallery, 146 S. Allen Street, in downtown State College.

The celebration will begin at 5 p.m. on April 9 with a proclamation by the mayor of State College, Ezra Nanes, followed by a talk by novelist Ghassan Zeineddine and a performance by the Malikat Dabke dance group. Festivities on April 11 include a screening of the PBS documentary, "The Arab Americans" at 10:30 a.m.; a lunch featuring Arab-inspired food and an OUD musical performance by Kevin Sims at 1 p.m.; and a talk by award-winning novelist and poet Laila Halaby at 2 p.m.

The event is co-sponsored by the College of the Liberal Arts; the Department of Comparative Literature; the African Studies Program; the Humanities Institute; the McCourtney Institute for Democracy; the Center for Social Change and Belonging; the Sparks Chair in Applied Linguistics; the Center for Global Studies; and the Paul Robeson Cultural Center.

To learn more, please contact Gabeba Baderoon, Penn State associate professor of women's, gender and sexuality studies, African studies, and comparative literature, at gxb26@psu.edu.