Community Workshop: Maracatu Brazilian Carnival Banner-Making 
Sunday, September 9   |  1:00-3:00 pm
Mathers Museum of World Cultures  |   416 N. Indiana Avenue

FREE, Open to the general public and community groups

RSVP: loraine@lotusfest.org or by calling (812) 336-6599

Are you part of a neighborhood in Bloomington? a group like Girl Scouts? a school? a community organization?  Then come create a banner to celebrate neighborhood pride, group identity, and all that makes up our beloved Bloomington community!  Inspired by the banners used in Brazil’s Maracatu Carnival tradition, Lotus is inviting groups and individuals to make and display their banners as part of the 25th Lotus World Music & Arts Festival — whatever group or organization you may identify with, bring group members with you or just come by yourself.

At this workshop, you’ll also learn about this beautiful tradition with an introduction to Maracatu cultural customs by Lotus Festival artist Dr. Colleen Haas. An accomplished percussionist, teacher, and ethnomusicologist, Dr. Colleen Haas specializes in Brazilian music and is the lead artist for this year’s Lotus Summer Visual Arts Outreach program, including several free workshops during Festival weekend with the performing group Women of Mass Percussion.

Supplies are provided and staff will be on hand to help guide your banner creation. At the Lotus Festival, banners will be displayed in the Arts Village and can be carried by their makers in the Lotus Festival Parade. After the Festival, banners can be kept by their makers.

Our Lotus 2018 visual arts project focuses on Maracatu, a 400-year-old Afro-Brazilian parading tradition originating from the northeastern city of Recife. Highlighting different strands of history and promoting community diversity, Maracatu acts as an expression of creativity and inclusivity, mirroring social concerns that are significant to society today.