Keke Palmer in Alice

C O N T .

“They're having a big concert here, ” says Jeff Johnson who was visiting The Wharf alongside Jean Johnson.

The Wharf, located in the sixth ward of Washington DC, hosts several events during the beginning of the spring season to commemorate the blooming of cherry blossoms. Events this year include an anime movie festival, a cherry blossom decoration competition, and a festival known as Bloomaroo.

Bloomaroo is a free event that includes a concert, activities for children, and a firework show at night. This event allows visitors to enjoy the cherry blossoms while having fun. The Wharf also ensures that the festival is properly decorated. Visitors will notice that many of the restaurants in The Wharf are decorated with cherry blossoms. Some restaurants even have cherry blossominspired menu items for this time of year. The celebration of cherry blossom season has had a huge impact on the culture of DC. Many DC natives have brung cherry blossoms into their homes.

“I think a lot of people from this area have cherry blossom trees in their backyard or around their house. I have some around my house and I like seeing them when they start to bloom. So it’ s just fun and it’ s something unique to the DC area. ” Howard University student Leah Dawson said. She also highlights how popular the cherry blossom trees are for visitors to DC.

“I think when a lot of people come to the area they come just to see the trees and it’ s like crazy to me that something that I have in my front yard people travels all the way to DC just to see them. But it’ s definitely a part of DC culture. ” Dawson said "The love and admiration for the cherry blossom season are adamant and will continue to grow. For more information on Bloomaroo or more events at The Wharf this season, visit https://www.wharfdc.com/upcoming-events/

ByMonetHeath

KEKE PALMER STARS IN 'ALICE, ' THE STORY OF AN ENSLAVED WOMAN'S REVENGE

By Fatou Drammeh

B Y M O N E T B O W E N

The upcoming film

“Alice ” puts a new spin on the typical antebellum films we are used to seeing on the big screen. Starring award-winning entertainer Keke Palmer, Alice is the story of an enslaved woman who escapes her Georgia plantation. Once Alice runs far enough from her plantation she is stopped by a truck driver, played by fellow entertainer Common, who informs her that it is not the 1800s, but 1973. The film follows Alice as she learns about the changed state of America post-Civil Rights Act. As she finds her footing in the new era, she also seeks clarity and justice from the people who used to own her. The introduction of Palmer ’ s character to the modern-day is represented by retro copies of Ebony and Rolling Stone, bright colors, and blowouts reminiscent of the 70s. “I'm intrigued by Alice's awakening to society in the 70s, it's kinda like Foxy Brown meets Harriet Tubman, ” says Amaka

Korie, a 2021 graduate of Howard University ’ s TV & film program.

Alice isn ’t the first feature film to look at slavery through the lens of a different time period. The 2020 film Antebellum, starring Janelle Monae, follows an author who also finds herself on a plantation during modern times and has to find a way to escape. But while Antebellum was a fictional story, Alice is based on true accounts of Black families who remained enslaved for over 100 years after emancipation.