Chrysalis Kids: Culture Queen

Chrysalis Kids is back!!! Join us for an amazing morning filled with engaging music with the talented Culture Queen! The event will take place on Saturday, Apr 19, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at The Chrysalis, Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods. Come and enjoy a FREE, wonderful performance in a stunning outdoor venue. The Park opens at 10:00 a.m. for play with Imagination Playground. Kids of all ages welcome!

Culture Queen is an award-winning teaching artist, children’s musician, author and arts manager, who creates empowering entertainment for children! She is the founder of Culture Kingdom Kids, LLC, where since 2010, Culture Queen has produced innovative Black History-themed children’s performances, festivals, and professional development programs at schools, libraries, restaurants, malls, theaters and museums across the country including the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture and the Reginald Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture. Her children's album, I Like the Me I See!, released in 2016 along with her 2019 children’s book by the same title, hits all the right notes for families and educators bringing up confident, culturally aware, and curious children. She’s been a featured speaker on TedXRVA, and her TED-ED video entitled “Mansa Musa: One of the Wealthiest People Who Ever Lived”, has received over 6 million views. Culture Queen is also an award-winning playwright whose children's musical, Bone Soup: A Kwanzaa Story, is published by Pioneer Drama Service and produced around the country. Her work has been featured in Billboard Magazine, Parents Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Red Tricycle, The Washington Post and many more. She is the recipient of the 2012 Top Forty Under 40 Award for Education by the Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund and the 2015 Alumnus of the Year Award by the Prince George's County Public Schools Board of Education. Culture Queen lives in Baltimore, Maryland and serves as the Chief Program Officer of Arts For Learning Maryland - a nonprofit working to transform learning through the arts for more than 250,000 Maryland students annually.

The Trust is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization incorporated in Maryland. The mission of the Inner Arbor Trust is to promote and nurture a park in a unique natural setting for a variety of arts and culture experiences that enrich the entire community. The Trust works to develop Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods into a destination arts and culture park. In addition to operating the Chrysalis amphitheater, the Trust manages a substantial portion of the Park for recreational use.

All seating will be on the lawn. Lawn chairs are available for rent ($5 each), or you may bring a blanket or a small lawn chair with no canopy.

No pets except service animals are permitted at this event. We will miss our four legged friends, but please do bring canine companions to events where permitted.

Restrooms are available at the top of Chrysalis hill.

Parking is in Lot 2 (flat) and Lot 2 (garage). ADA / Priority Mobility Parking is available when you check out or email [email protected]

DIRECTIONS TO LOT 2 (flat)

For GPS purposes, please use the address 11000 Broken Land Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044 (you are going to the flat surface parking lot, not the garage).

From points north: Take 29 South to 175 West (Columbia). Continue as 175 becomes Little Patuxent Parkway, for approximately 2.3 miles. Make a left onto Merriweather Drive and follow the signs to Lot 2, which is to the right.

From points south: Take 29 North to Broken Land Parkway towards Town Center / Merriweather Post Pavilion. Make a right onto Little Patuxent Parkway, continue for approximately 0.2 miles. Make a right onto Merriweather Drive and follow the signs to Lot 2, which is to the right.

DIRECTIONS TO LOT 2 (garage)
For GPS purposes, please use the address 11000 Broken Land Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044 (you are going to the garage, not flat lot).

From points North: Take I-95 South to Route 100 West towards Columbia. Continue on Route 100 West to Route 29 South towards Columbia. Continue on 29 South to Exit 18 towards Columbia Town Center, turn Left at the traffic light onto Broken Land Parkway. Turn right at next light onto Hickory Ridge Road. Follow signage, you will be directed to parking location upon arrival.
From points South: Take I-95 North to Route 32 West towards Columbia. Take Route 32 West to Route 29 North. Follow Route 29 North to Broken Land Parkway, Exit 18 towards Columbia Town Center, stay in the right lane. At the light, turn right onto Hickory Ridge Road. Follow signage, you will be directed to parking location upon arrival.

* Image shows the logo of First National Bank as a Founding Partner. Partner Organization logos for Columbia Association and Howard County Recreation and Parks.*

This celebration is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council. To discover more about the Maryland State Arts Council and how they impact Maryland, visit msac.org.

* image shows an abstract version of the Maryland flag, the logo of the Maryland State Arts Council, which is part of the Department of Commerce.*

Host or Publisher Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods