DURHAM— Hayti Heritage Center, housed in the sanctuary of a former St. Joseph's AME Church dating to 1891, today announced its 2026–27 season of performances, literary events, and free community gatherings under the theme “Planted in Legacy. Always in Bloom.” The season runs from August 2026 through May 2027 and refl ects what curators describe as “cross-pollination”: the meeting of tradition and transformation, elders and newcomers, the deeply local and the nationally celebrated.
The season opens with the free, day-long Hayti Business Expo on Saturday, August 8, spotlighting more than 70 Black-owned businesses, and continues each Thursday in September with the outdoor Steps@Hayti dance parties. From there, programming moves indoors to the center's landmark performance hall for a run of concerts, conversations, and premieres.
“This building was built to hold us. Hold us in joy, in revelry, in our questioning and in our grief. It is the living embodiment of the power of community. And so it remains. Our artistic expressions have always called our name and brought us together. And we aim to continue in that tradition this season,” said Monét Noelle Marshall, Interim Artistic Director of Hayti Heritage Center.
2026–27 Season Highlights
- Black Business Expo: August 8, 2026 | Free, full-day expo featuring more than 70 Black-owned businesses.
- Steps@Hayti: Thursdays throughout September 2026 | Free outdoor dance parties.
- Phonte Coleman: Speakerbox: September 18, 2026 | The Grammy-nominated Durham native and Litt le Brother member opens the Speakerbox, a new songs-and-stories series.
- John Holiday: October 1, 2026 | One of today's most acclaimed countertenors performs live.
- YahZarah: October 10, 2026 | The fi ve-octave vocalist returns to the city that fi rst embraced her.
- Amaryn Olmeda: November 6, 2026 | Teenage violinist with Carnegie Hall and Deutsche Grammophon credentials.
- Eagle Aggie Gospel Classic: November 14, 2026 | NCCU vs. NC A&T meet in a gospel showcase.
- The Sistering: Speakerbox: December 4, 2026 | Durham jazz vocalists Lenora Zenzalai Helm Hammonds, Lois Deloatch, Nnenna Freelon, and Kate McGarry share the songs they love and the stories behind them
- Etienne Charles' Creole Christmas: December 8, 2026 | A holiday concert rooted in Caribbean and Creole musical traditions.
- Kwanzaa Celebration: December 26, 2026 | Free, full-day community celebration.
- Gas Giants by Pierce Freelon: March 12–13, 2027 | A world-premiere show for young audiences blending imagination, biology, and science.
- Our Ancestors Were Messy Live: March 26, 2027 | A DJ-driven, myth-busting look at North Carolina history.
- Frankie Lee III: April 23–24, 2027 | World premiere of a Hayti-commissioned contemporary dance work rooted in the Triangle.
- Golden Hour: Thursdays in May 2027 | A jazz-and-poetry series.
- Cracked: Pleasure & Prose with Deesha Philyaw and Kennedy Ryan: May 19, 2027 | Two acclaimed Black women authors in conversation about desire, freedom, and the page.
Season subscriptions, which grant access to every ticketed event for a single price, are on sale now, along with individual event tickets and a monthly sustainer program that helps fund the center's free public programming, including the Expo, the outdoor dance parties, Kwanzaa, and youth masterclasses.
