Washington, DC (May 3, 2012) – This weekend, the annual Paint the Town celebration will bring Morocco’s culture, history, food, and fashion to Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Paint the Town Moroccan, hosted by the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD, will offer a series of fun, fashionable, and enlightening activities to entertain and educate about Morocco and its historic friendship with the Untied States, and to celebrate the contributions of the vibrant Moroccan-American community in the DC metro area.

The event, organized by Leslie Westbrook of the Academy Art Museum, with help from the Washington Moroccan Club, will feature a souk—a market where artisans, craftsmen, and vendors sell Moroccan handmade goods, carpets, caftans, leather goods, and spices. Artwork exhibits will feature Moroccan artists Hamid Kachmar and photography by Moroccan artist Lalla Essaydi. His Excellency Ambassador Rachad Bouhlal, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the US, will be a special guest and will officially open the event with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

On Friday, May 4, former US Ambassador to Morocco and host of the event, Edward Gabriel, will give a talk, “Morocco: America’s Oldest Friend” sharing little known historical facts about US-Moroccan relations.

On Saturday, May 5, Moroccan musician Ali Amir will showcase a variety of Moroccan music genres including Gnaoua – sub-Saharan/African mixed with Berber and Sufi rhythms; Chaabi – North African pop; Berber – the most ancient and traditional; and Andalusian – Moorish music found in North Africa linking back to their centuries in southern Spain.

Proceeds from Paint the Town Moroccan will support the Academy Art Museum’s mission to enhance cultural life by making available to everyone the Museum’s expanding art collection, exhibitions, and broad spectrum of arts programs for dance, painting, and music.

For more about the Paint the Town Moroccan celebration, visit us
at www.moroccoonthemove.com and follow us on Twitter – @MorocOnTheMove

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The Moroccan American Cultural Center (MACC) is a not-for-profit 501 c(3) organization which works to build stronger cultural and educational ties between Morocco and the US through its support of programs that enhance bilateral relations and cooperation. Created in 2003 as an initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, MACC has undertaken a range of projects which include hosting events that celebrate and share the rich diversity of Moroccan culture, and supporting programs that enhance cultural and educational ties between the US and Morocco as well as across the Maghreb. For more information, go to www.moroccoonthemove.com.