The African American Cultural Center created space for self-love at a luxurious Valentine’s Mocktails and Tapas night.
Held at the Carmichael Gym Teaching Kitchen, the event provided a calm atmosphere with room for discussion, allowing participants to interact with what Black Euphoria, the center’s theme for Black History Month, meant to them.
Student programming interns Alexis Grant, a second-year studying material science engineering, and Saraiya Mills, a fourth-year studying communication, were the minds behind the Mocktails and Tapas gathering. They wanted to highlight self-care at the event, as it is sometimes disregarded in the Black community.
“It’s really important to give space to perseverance, fighting and strength,” Mills said. “But I think it’s just as important to give space to taking care of ourselves and our community.”
Led by local mixologist Breanna Moss, the interactive and lush event was the perfect addition to NC State’s Wellness Day on Feb. 16. Muddled berries and drink garnishes made for a swanky sipping experience, followed by a fresh strawberry sugar cake treat.
“There’s a luxury and high-end mentality that comes with a culinary class, so it’s nice to see Black people in that kind of world,” Grant said.
The center brought Moss, mixologist and owner of B Kouture Mixology, a private liquid catering service, to the kitchen for students to learn the key to a tasty mocktail. Moss developed a menu of drinks for students to make that celebrated Black heritage. Among these drink offerings were the mint julep, the Black excellence and the sweet sunrise.
“I was thinking about the theme of Black Euphoria and wanted the drink menu to relate to that,” Moss said. “For example, the mint julep was created by a famous Black bartender when there weren’t any Black bartenders around — it wasn’t a thing for us.”
The event also offered a mindful invitation to create a loving affirmation of oneself on a pastel scrapbooking page while reflecting on the theme of Black Euphoria. These pages will eventually end up on the Black Euphoria: Love Letters to Black Life gallery exhibition, which will open on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Andaiye Qaasim, assistant director of the center, is excited to see the exhibition come to life at the end of the month.
“In our center, we invite people all next week to come by and make a scrapbook page to write a love letter to yourself and create a beautiful page,” Qaasim said. “We’ll have these displayed at the Black Euphoria gallery, alongside some performers and spoken word.”
Be on the lookout for future Black History Month events on the African American Cultural Center’s website, including the Diasporic Dinners and a Black State of Wellness Roundtable Discussion.
