The end of December means the beginning of celebrating Kwanzaa, which starts December 26 and features eight nights of culture and holiday traditions based on 7 principles. Learn more about the holiday at these events in and around New Jersey:
December 13
Kwanzaa
Montclair Public Library, Montclair
Free family-friendly festivities include the traditional pouring of libations and a discussion of the seven principles with Sister Kellia Sweatt; a Kwanzaa-inspired fashion show by the students of Payne Tech High School Fashion Club; a dance and drum performance by Umoja Dance Company, a traditional African Market, and face painting.
Kwanzaa Festival
Edison Job Corps Athletic Center, Edison
The NAACP Metuchen Edison Piscataway Branch presents an indoor marketplace focusing on culture and community.
Kwanzaa Tales
Burlington County Library, Westampton
Tahira, a storyteller, musician, vocalist and songwriter, will combine storytelling with music to explore the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
December 14
Kwanzaa Storytime
Fire Me Up! Studio, Cranford
The group will read Lil’ Rabbit’s Kwanzaa by Donna L. Washington, and then create a kinara-themed pottery piece to honor the traditions of family. Open to kids age 2 and up.
December 18
New Brunswick Community Annual Kwanzaa Celebration
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, New Brunswick
Held in conjunction with the New Brunswick Area NAACP’s Year End Meeting, the event will include food, drinks, poetry, live music and dance performances.
December 20
Kwanzaa Family Festival & Artisan Marketplace
NJPAC, Newark
Dec. 20
There will be performances from local dance troupes, Kwanzaa rituals, dancing and drumming classes, face painting, storytelling and a full marketplace.
December 23
Kwanzaa 365 Kinara Lighting Ceremony
Trenton City Hall, Trenton
The lighting ceremony celebrates Kujichagulia, which is the principle of self-determination.
December 26 – January 1
Kwanzaa
The African American Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Learn about the seven principles of the holiday through music, dance, storytelling, kinara lightings and craft sessions.
Kwanzaa
Sesame Place, Langhorne, PA
As part of the season-long A Very Furry Christmas Celebration, the holiday transitions to a Kwanzaa celebration during the last week of the year. December 31 includes a NYE fireworks display.
December 27
Community Awareness Series Annual Kwanzaa Celebration
Daoud-David Williams Cultural Arts Center, Miller Branch Library, Jersey City
Celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa through music, poetry, ancestral remembrance, a candle lighting, African dance and drumming, and a community harvest.
December 28
Kwanzaa
Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Families can create a painting of a Kwanzaa table in the Creative Arts Studio, and join Mister Boom Boom in the theater where he will perform with his African drum circle.
Through December 28
Winter Wonderlights
Middlesex County Fairgrounds, East Brunswick
Although this isn’t specifically a Kwanzaa celebration, the drive-through of 1.5 million animated lights that are synchronized to music from a local radio station includes scenes depicting Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Diwali.
December 28 – 29
Kwanzaa Celebration: Verses of Unity
Children’s Museum of Manhattan, New York City
Asase Yaa will perform an interactive Kwanzaa concert, artist Lillian Young will lead families in painting a mixed media mural, kids can create their own print based on Adinkra symbols from Ghana, and families can paint with corn as a symbol of community.
December 29
Kwanzaa Celebration
Plainfield Performing Arts Center, Plainfield
The evening will include African storytelling, a traditional candle ceremony, spoken word, dance, food, a make-and-take activity and a tailored Kwanzaa program.
December 30
Friends of JBAAR Kwanzaa 2025
Newark Public Library, Newark
The Friends of the James Brown African American Room (JBAAR) will offer Kwanzaa arts and crafts for kids and families with STEAM Urban, a special candle lighting ceremony led by the Friends of JBAAR, and a musical performance by Victor Daze.
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Read More:
This Year’s Must-See Holiday Attractions
Our Mega Guide to Holiday Lights in New Jersey
