While many ISU students are still recovering from the Thanksgiving turkey, members of the Minority Theater Workshop are preparing for their annual Kwaanza celebration.The workshop will sponsor its fourth-annual celebration, designed to promote Kwaanza and its importance to some ISU students’ lives. The Kwaanza celebration will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, in Fisher Theater. Shirley Basfield-Dunlap, director of the Minority Theater Workshop, said the show is more like a pre-Kwaanza celebration since the actual dates are from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. “The ISU community celebrates Kwaanza in early December because students are home for Christmas break during the actual celebration,” said Basfield-Dunlap, associate professor of music. Anika Baty-Foster, junior in pre-journalism and mass communication, said the celebration is an important part of the African heritage.”It pays tribute to the cultural roots of Americans from African ancestry,” she said. The Minority Theater Workshop decided to introduce the celebration In 1996, Dunlap said, after they noticed that Iowa State didn’t have any programs designed to celebrate Kwaanza. The class began to celebrate with a show entitled “Kwaanza Tales.” “‘Kwaanza Tales’ was our first production,” Dunlap said. “Through folk tales, we targeted each of the seven principles of Kwaanza.”After receiving positive feedback from the show, members of the group decided to make it an annual event, eventually including the Black Renaissance group as it became larger each year. Dunlap said the extra help was welcome. “It’s important to have more and more people come together in recognition of this African holiday,” she said. The Kwaanza celebration this year promises to be a big success, Dunlap said because of two new parts of the show. These will be the unveiling of the Minority Theater Workshop’s new name and some special guests to help inspire the crowd called the Disciples Harvest Youth and Young Adult Praise Team. The Des Moines group will be performing through song and mime to mystify the audience.Dunlap said the program will also include audience participation.”Instead of having the kids light the candles by themselves, we asked the parents of the children to light the candles with them and then explain how they will use that Kwaanza principle in their own families,” she said.Foster said Kwaanza celebrates important ideals beyond the holidays.”My family celebrates Kwaanza every year,” she said. “It is important that people understand its principles and apply them to their everyday life.”