One of New York City’s largest celebrations of the Black community, family, and culture is back.
For the fourth year in a row, thousands of people will travel through Brooklyn and Harlem on Dec. 26 for Kwanzaa Crawl.
“Kwanzaa Crawl is a one-day event where people of the African diaspora join together to support the Black-owned bars in their neighborhoods,” a statement reads on the organizer’s website. “It’s a day of unity, fellowship, and fun.”
Last year alone, more than 4,000 crawlers generated over $250,000 in businesses for the 30 restaurants and bars that participated, as reported in New York Eater.
Tickets are currently available for $40. The crawl works by selecting a ticket for the first stop on your route. Your first stop means that’s the team you’re crawling with and a Kwanzaa Crawl team leader will guide you and your team from bar to bar.
The entire event will be divided into 40 teams to prevent overcrowding. Teams will criss-cross, split up, and get back together.
“Your route is predetermined and you won’t know all of the bars your team will hit until you get your Kwanzaa Crawl map at the Kick-Off ceremony. That’s a big part of the fun,” said organizers.
After 10:30 PM, all crawlers can roam freely to any participating bar.
Giving Back
Organizers have pledged to give a part of their proceeds to two NYC non-profits: Barbershop Books, an organization that creates reading spaces in barbershops to get more young black boys to read; and Seeds of Fortune, a scholarship program for young women of color.
