A free holiday extravaganza is headed to Hibernian Hall in Roxbury’s Nubian Square

Hosted by the Roxbury Cultural District, “A Winter NubianLand” will feature live performances, food and refreshments from local vendors, arts and crafts from local merchants, a Children’s Art Room, and “Live Like a Local” tours of the district.

The Roxbury Cultural District includes Nubian Square and John Eliot Square.

Roxbury Cultural District Interim President Kelley Chunn said that she was grateful to the City of Boston for supporting this event with the “Wake Up the Night” activation grant.

She’s excited to bring the people of the neighborhood together for holiday fun while also supporting the local businesses at Nubian Square. 

“It’s an opportunity for people in the community to come together to celebrate the holiday season with their families, to listen to some homegrown performers and to support local businesses in the Roxbury Cultural District,” she said.

Chunn said that this is the first year of “A Winter NubianLand.” She explained how this event came to life.

“The district applied for funding, along with several other nonprofit organizations across the city, and we were able to secure funding. We thought this would be a good opportunity to activate the Square after dark because it can get pretty lonely once it gets dark in the district,” she said.

Chunn said that there will be something for everyone to enjoy at the upcoming holiday extravaganza.

“A lot of people know the Fred Woodard Collective in the community and “Live Like a Local” tours are going to be providing tours of the district during the event. … It’s a bus tour because we know it’s chilly. There will be some spoken word performances. So it’s a little something for everybody,” she said.

Fred Woodard said that he feels good about himself and his band performing at “A Winter NubianLand” because he is contributing to the cause of establishing the Roxbury Cultural District as a go-to spot and destination for the arts.

“We’re always excited to perform in the community. Also, [at] Hibernian Hall in particular. We’ve played there on many occasions, and it’s always a good experience,” he said.

The Fred Woodard Collective performs Swing songs with Latin flavor, as well as songs that have an R&B and funk flavor mixed into a jazz context. They make use of familiar melodies fused with improvisation.

Woodard said that performing at “A Winter NubianLand” is important to him and his band.

“I live in the community, and I think it’s important to have the arts available for people to enjoy in the community, as opposed to only knowing about Symphony Hall or the Berklee Performance Center. Those places are fine and everything, but it’s good to have events in the community that they can easily access,” he said.

Woodard said that community members can expect to hear from his band a mix of holiday songs with a jazz flair, some standard jazz combinations, and original material that they have recorded.

The group will also have their latest album, called “Indigo,” for sale for community members at the holiday extravaganza.

His band members include himself on the guitar, his son Fredrick Woodard on violin, Melvin Graham on bass, and Matthew Williams on drums.

Lastly, Woodard encourages community members to come out and show their support at “A Winter NubianLand.”

“I think it’s important to come to support local artists, whether they be musician status, visual art, or dance. … There’re different types of art that people should be exposed to and support in the community because there are artists in the community. … They’ll have visual artists there, and some of them will be selling things. And then also dance and there [will be] spoken word. There [will] also be vendors there. So those are small businesses that need our support. It’s a mix of the arts and business that should be supported by the community,” he said.

Along with The Fred Woodward Collective, there will be other local performances, including hip-hop and spoken word by Teen Empowerment, vocals by Karim Johnson, and live artmaking with Alexis Smith.

“A Winter NubianLand” will be on Sunday, December 8th from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley Street in Roxbury’s Nubian Square. For more information, contact the Roxbury Cultural District at 617-858-5228.