Celebrating 20 Years of Seraj
Sunday, September 13, 2026 | 3-7 PM
Libraries. Stories. Community.
.مكتبات. حكايات. مجتمع
Join us for an afternoon of Palestinian food, music, storytelling, art, conversation, and community. Throughout the afternoon guests will enjoy a marketplace, children’s activities, cultural exhibits, performances, and our anniversary celebration.
Irish American Heritage Center
4626 N Knox Ave, Chicago IL
Hear the stories, celebrate the milestones, and help us to light the next chapter
On This Earth
‘On This Earth’, is a hakawati style musical storytelling performance on the oud inspired by Mahmoud Darwish's poem of the same name and astrophysicist Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. Through his instrument, Ronnie weaves stories and music from the Middle East and North Africa to Al-Andalus and the Americas into a personal and historical journey of cultural exchanges past and present. Ronnie will be accompanied by members of the Sumoud Collective.
Ronnie Malley is a Palestinian-American multi-instrumentalist musician, theatre maker, storyteller, producer, and educator. He specializes in musical styles from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and medieval Spain. Ronnie performs with many global artists and ensembles and has worked on award-winning theatrical plays, films, and TV series including Mo (Netflix), The Jungle Book (Disney, Goodman Theatre), The New Mother (Eleva Singleton), and Saffron Kingdom (Arfat Sheikh). He appears on numerous albums and has produced original and collaborative works including Ziryab, The Songbird of Andalusia, American Griot (Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award 2020), and Omar Offendum's Little Syria. Ronnie received the 2023 Chamber Music America Michael Jaffee Visionary Award. He holds a BA in Global Music Studies from DePaul University and a MA in Languages (Arabic and Hebrew) from University of Chicago, where he is currently a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology.
Sumoud Collective is an Arab music ensemble focused on activism and our steadfast resilience. The group consists of a rotating roster of musicians from the Chicagoland area who perform traditional and modern Middle Eastern songs about hope, resistance, and solidarity.
The afternoon has something for everyone!
3:00-5:00 PM
Throughout the first floor
Gather as a community
Family-friendly cultural activities
Seraj Souk, artisan and olive oil market
Visualizing Palestine Exhibit
Games
Children’s Library
Palestinian food
5:00-6:15 PM
In the Mayfair Theater
Inspiring speakers
Film from Palestine
Live musical storytelling
6:15-7:00 PM
In the Great Hall
Explore the exhibits
Shop at the Souk
Cath up with old and new friends
Cash bar