Kennedy Center Opens the Reach With Parade, Festival (photos)
By • September 9, 2019 0 3139
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is celebrating the first physical expansion in its 48-year history — a campus of dramatic pavilions dubbed the Reach — with 16 days of “creativity in action.” Over 500 free events featuring performances by roughly 1,000 artists will take place during the Reach Opening Festival, running through Sept. 22 (click here for the complete schedule).
Overlooking the Potomac River, the new campus is the setting for three matching white concrete-and-glass buildings with more than 130,000 square feet of space for artists and performances. The $250-million expansion includes modern rehearsal studios, classrooms and a large public plaza.
Free timed-entry passes can be reserved on the internet. Some of the sessions are already “sold out,” particularly on weekends. However, the Kennedy Center will be running standby lines for those who arrive without a ticket.
The Reach Opening Festival officially began on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 7, with an eclectic parade that wound along several Virginia Avenue blocks on its way to the Kennedy Center. Among the artists participating were Lubana Al-Quntar, the Hall Williams Band, Kazaxe, Ladygod, Soka Tribe, Mariachi El Rey, LeeAnet Noble & Team Vicious, Christina Piazza & Paul Bachmann and the Eastern High School Drumline.
The opening ceremony featured speeches by Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter, Chairman David Rubenstein, Mayor Muriel Bowser and soprano Renée Fleming. Kennedy Center Artistic Director and Vice President of Social Impact Marc Bamuthi Joseph dedicated the Reach with his “Re-Declaration of Creative Independence,” an original choral poem communally performed by Alfre Woodard, Tatiana Chavez, David Brooks, Rachel Martin and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain.
Renée Fleming invoked the spirit of John F Kennedy and his appreciation for culture and the arts, saying: “The word ‘art’ means simply the best of what we can achieve and put together as creative human beings, and this can exemplify that.”
View Jeff Malet’s images from the Reach opening ceremony and parade by clicking on the photo icons below.
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- Soka Tribe by Sokanista is a cultural exploration brand specializing in dance fitness that brings the spirit of Caribbean carnival to you! (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Representing several states, board members of the National Committee for the Performing Arts march in the parade. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Renée Fleming invites attendees to “Reach” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Enjoying the parade are Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter and Chairman David Rubenstein (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Ruth says “See Beyond Difference” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Shacomba West African Stilt Walkers on parade at the Kennedy Center at the opening of the Reach. Photo by Jeff Malet.
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- Rori blows trumpet for the Mariachi El Rey (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Bill Gibson drives his custom-built, 1966 Batmobile replica in the parade. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Sarah (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Hall Williams (left) and Lorenzo Sands of the Hall Williams Band (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Ashley and Mats as “jesters” in the parade (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Nikayah (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Jessica (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Artist Stephanie Mercedes with hanging bullets confiscated by DC police in homicide cases. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- April is against gun violence ( (photo by Jeff Malet)photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Tom says “I’m just here” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Artists spelling the word FUTURE in Navy flag signals. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Ladygod Rock Band (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Hoesy Corona performer (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Deborah F. Rutter (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- The new center overlooks the Potomac River and features three new pavilions with over 130,000 square feet of space for artists and performances. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Skylight Pavilion features vaulted ceilings over an expansive atrium space with multiple glass skylights and very large glass windows providing views of the Potomac River. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- The River Pavilion is home to the River Café with fantastic views of the Potomac River and the Center’s new pedestrian bridge. The new center overlooks the Potomac (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Victura Deck outside of the Welcome Pavilion with Mo Willems’s Pigeon character inflatable. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Alice – evoking JFK (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Step dancers – The female percussion dance troupe Team Vicious (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Ladygod Rock Band (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Sheldon Scott pulls a sculpute by artist Vanessa German. Her sculpture often includes assembled statues of female figures created with their heads/ faces painted black and a wide range of attached objects. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Mariachi El Rey. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- D.C .Mayor Muriel Bowser (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Marc Bamuthi Joseph dedicated the REACH with his “Re-Declaration of Creative Independence” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Columnist David Brooks performs “Re-Declaration of Creative Independence” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Alfre Woodard performs part “Re-Declaration of Creative Independence” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- soprano Renée Fleming (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- The new center overlooks the Potomac River and features three new pavilions with over 130,000 square feet of space for artists and performances. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Magdalena, age 6, from Washington D.C. celebrates The Reach (photo by Jeff Malet)
