June at Peirce Mill: West African dance, artist-led “Create by the Creek” workshops

by Angela Kramer

The Friends of Peirce Mill and Rock Creek Park have put together a full calendar of free events for the 2023 milling season.

Our new summer dance and performance series kicks off on June 3rd with a performance by KanKouran West African Dance Company. Company co-founder Assane Konte will be sharing the rich cultures of West Africa through traditional dance and music.

And on June 10th, Create by the Creek returns to Peirce Mill for the second year, featuring free workshops taught by local artists.

Creating by the mill…

And by the creek in 2022. (photos by Bill Mills)

The Friends and Rock Creek Park are now looking for folks to help during the busy season at Peirce Mill, and have several volunteer opportunities at the mill and in the orchard. On Saturday, April 29th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., they’re organizing an orchard and mill yard work day. Volunteers will help with spring gardening chores, including spreading mulch, sowing seeds, and removing invasive plants. For more information and to register, please click here.

Peirce Mill also needs interpretive volunteers to welcome visitors, give tours, and help with mill operations on weekends. No milling experience required! Prospective volunteers are invited to a mill volunteer information meeting on Saturday, May 6th from 9 to 11 a.m. To attend, please RSVP here.

And finally, if you’d like to learn more about opportunities to volunteer at events like Create by the Creek, or if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Angela Kramer has been the executive director of the Friends of Peirce Mill since fall 2022, and has led family programs at the mill since 2015.

For an at-a-glance listing of all Peirce Mill 2023 activities, visit the FoPM events page.

Getting there: Peirce Mill is located at 2401 Tilden Street NW. There’s limited parking across Tilden at Rock Creek Park’s Picnic Grove #1, and two accessible spaces next to the mill’s Visitor Information Center. The mill is a 15 to 20-minute walk from the Van Ness Metro station, and a 10 to 15-minute walk from the L2 Metrobus stops at Connecticut Avenue and Tilden.