By NORMAN L. GREENE
05/16/12
The day began with a flag ceremony and ceremonial ribbon cutting at noon where attendees heard from the organizers of the event and the Moroccan Ambassador to the United States Rachad Bouhlal, and the preceding day, from the former U.S. Ambassador Edward Gabriel. (The ribbon cutting was performed by Easton Mayor Robert C. Willey and Moroccan Ambassador Bouhlal.) The presentations set the stage for the rest of the day which continued with a souk featuring Moroccan tea, cookies, music, rugs, and clothing, and more. It was a perfect day to wander along Harrison Street in historic downtown Easton, Maryland, and peruse the Moroccan wares that were being sold.
At the end of the promenade was a large space that was converted into an authentic Moroccan tent where the evening's fundraiser dinner and musical programming would take place. “It was great to see the extent of the community response to these Moroccan events where political and cultural figures mingle, not only from Easton, Maryland, but from Morocco and elsewhere from the East Coast,” said Alia Kate, founder of Kantara Rugs and one of the exhibitors at the souk. “The traditionally woven Moroccan rugs added a splash of color to downtown Easton and underscored the complex colors, patterns, and textures that are woven into Moroccan life,” she added.
The event was the Paint the Town Moroccan! Celebration, held on Saturday May 5, 2012, a dual purpose event which raised money for the town’s Academy Art Museum at the same time as it introduced the region to Moroccan history, crafts, art and culture; and it succeeded on all fronts. It was co-organized, along with the Museum, by the Washington Moroccan American Club, a well-known community organization based in Washington, D.C. which has created many events throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area over the years, including the month long 20-20 celebration of its 20th anniversary of service to the Moroccan-American Community in March 2010; and a major community celebration in the McLean (Virginia) Community Center.
Tim Resch of Friends of Morocco, who travelled to Maryland for the occasion to attend and participate in the ceremonies and festivities, observed, “While this was a great opportunity for the Moroccan-American community in the Washington, DC area to assemble, it also was an opportunity for over 300 residents of Easton, MD to get a glimpse of the history, music, art and cuisine of Morocco, some for the first time.”
Other features of the day included the music of Moroccan musician Ali Amir, working with the musical group Sounds of Morocco. Mr. Amir traveled from Morocco to showcase key strains of Moroccan music, including Gnaoua; sub-Saharan/African; Chaabi, a type of jazz; Berber, the most ancient and traditional; and Andalusian, a mixture of Arabic and Jewish music.
As Mr. Amir observed, “I was so pleased to serve as an unofficial ambassador of five regions of Morocco and showcase their music to Americans in such a lovely setting.” Mr. Amir added that he was “privileged to be a member of the Washington Moroccan-American Club as well and prepared to participate in future events for the promotion of Morocco and Moroccan-American relations." Besides the music (which took place at the historical Avalon Theatre from 6 to 7 p.m. and subsequently in the decorated Moroccan tent, followed by a reception at the Academy Art Museum from 7 to 8 p.m., with dinner starting at 8 p.m. under the tent), attendees were also treated to a display of Moroccan dancing featuring Saffron Dance from Clarendon, Virginia.
The Club’s president, Hassan Samrhouni, who attended and organized the program along with the Museum, looking forward to the future, stressed the importance of introducing more and more localities to Morocco in ways like this. “As people learn more about Morocco, they wish to travel there, they become even further acquainted with its culture, and as they do this, they fall in love with the country. This has happened so many times and should continue.” “These programs should be duplicated throughout the United States, in city by city, town by town, wherever possible. They are such a cost-effective way to promote Morocco within the United States and create multi-cultural friendships and understanding and spur tourism and other cultural exchanges, all without cost to Morocco.” Mr. Samrhouni expressed his special thanks to the Moroccan-American Community and its friends for their participation.
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*© Norman L. Greene (2012). The author resides in New York, N.Y.
Credits and Participants for Paint the Town Moroccan!
Academy Art Museum; Washington Moroccan American Club
Honorary Chairpersons
Former Ambassador to Morocco Ed Gabriel and Kathleen Linehan
Hassan Samrhouni
Special Guests
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco and Mrs. Rachad Bouhlal
Event Chairmen
Leslie Westbrook, Carolyn Williams, and Joyce Doehler
Event Committee
Marie Bradley, Anna Fichtner, Kathy Gilson, Janet Hendricks, Beth Jones, Karen Mathis, Samantha McCall, Diana Sable, and Amy Steward
Associations and Organizations
Mayor’s Office, Easton, Maryland
Moroccan American Center
Moroccan American Center for Policy
Washington Moroccan American Club
Friends of Morocco
Moroccan Community, Cincinnati, OH
Circle of Friends of Morocco
Amana, American Moroccan Association of North America
Moroccans of New York
Suppliers
Nova Movers
Zeitoon Restaurant
Farah Kenani (Ramadan for Kids)
Amina Filali, Moroccan wedding specialist ( Nagafa)
American Audio Action
Fantasia Trading
Prof. Nadia Duchelle, Street artist
Hannah Artist ( Souad )
Kantara Rugs
Casablanca Travel and Tours
Entertainments
Ali Amir
DJKIMO, Kamal
Saffron Dance
Sounds of Morocco
Video: Event Video
photos: Photo Album
