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Raising of the flag begins 7 days of Kwanzaa celebration

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WBFO News

Holiday celebrations continue Thursday in the City of Buffalo with the start of Kwanzaa.

Mayor Byron Brown will raise the flag at noon in Niagara Square, marking the beginning of the 53rd annual Kwanzaa celebration. This year's theme is "The Afrikan Man, The Original Man In Full Effect."

Patricia Alinda Elliott, chair of the Buffalo Kwanzaa Committee, shared her thoughts on Kwanzaa.

"Kwanzaa is everything. Kwanzaa is love. Kwanzaa ia peace," she said. "Kwanzaa is being unified in everything that you do. Kwanzaa is knowing for sure that you can be everything that you were created to be. Because we're Africans and we have African ingenuity."

The raising of the Liberation Flag serves as the kickoff for seven days of events and ceremonies to celebrate family, community and culture. A complete list can be found here.

Monday - Friday, 6 a.m. - 10 a.m.

Jay joined Buffalo Toronto Public Media in 2008 and has been local host for NPR's "Morning Edition" ever since. In June, 2022, he was named one of the co-hosts of WBFO's "Buffalo, What's Next."

A graduate of St. Mary's of the Lake School, St. Francis High School and Buffalo State College, Jay has worked most of his professional career in Buffalo. Outside of public media, he continues in longstanding roles as the public address announcer for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League and as play-by-play voice of Canisius College basketball.
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